HMO Customer Racing will bring the Hyundai Elantra N TCR, known in Australia as the Hyundai i30 Sedan N TCR, to TCR Australia for the Bathurst season finale in November.
The team received one of the new cars last week at its Campbelltown facility in South-West Sydney and gave it a shakedown test at Winton Raceway on Friday.
Drivers Josh Buchan and Nathan Morcom have already sampled the car in its shakedown, with Buchan, who although fourth in the drivers’ standings is still in title contention, to début the car at Mount Panorama.
“It’s very exciting that new cars are being introduced to the category, which shows the growth of the championship and its relevance to manufacturers such as Hyundai,” said Buchan.
“I’ve never driven a brand-new anything before – from go-karts and throughout my car racing career – so to be given this opportunity is very special.
“On top of that, to learn that I will then be driving the i30 Sedan N TCR for the first time in competition at Bathurst is phenomenal and a genuine privilege.
“It’s a real honour to have the support to make this happen from all the team at HMO Customer Racing, including team owner Barry Morcom and my chief engineer Rob Benson, and also Hyundai Australia.
“While it is not ideal that I will be heading to Bathurst with very few laps under my belt, we have already proven how successful the i30 N TCR already is in hatchback form with multiple wins and are confident the i30 Sedan N TCR will be just as competitive, particularly at Bathurst.
“In any case, it is be great to get a better understanding of the car ahead of next year so we can get a head start and hit the ground running for a full title tilt in 2023.”
Morcom is looking forward to the team being able to make comparisons with the i30 N hatchback, which it has sun since 2019 in the category.
“It is be great to jump into the later generation TCR car to experience the differences between the two models and get a better understanding of how it performs,” added Morcom.
“We know the i30 N is such a great car out of the box, and we have plenty of reference data at Winton Raceway with the hatch, so I can’t wait to see what the i30 Sedan N TCR can do.
“The car looks amazing in person, and the controls – especially on the steering wheel – are even more advanced, so it will be beneficial to get a good systems check and shake down all the new components ahead of Bathurst.”
The final round of the 2022 TCR Australia season takes place Mount Panorama, Bathurst on 11 – 13 November.