Néstor Girolami will lead the official Hyundai MSA team in this year’s TCR South America, with the Argentine returning to full-time racing on the continent for the first time since 2018.
Girolami, 36, has spent the past two seasons contesting the FIA TCR World Tour with Hyundai, winning four times and finishing sixth overall in the standings in both seasons.
Prior to that, he enjoyed a five-year relationship with Honda, which began for the 2019 FIA World Touring Car Cup season when he joined Münnich Motorsport.
In 2022, Girolami finished as runner-up in WTCR, winning twice and scoring five podium results in a 16-race campaign.
Girolami first rose to international prominence in 2015, when he contested selected World Touring Car Championship races, before securing a full-time WTCC seat with Volvo in 2017.
Prior to that, he was a two-time Súper TC2000 champion in 2014 and 2015, having competed in his domestic series since 2007.
Girolami will be team-mates to Diego Ciantini and Camilo Trappa, with the outfit’s fourth driver to be confirmed.
He will continue to race in Europe in 2026 alongside his TCR South America commitments.
“First of all, I want to thank Hyundai Brazil and Damián Fineschi [Team Principal] for their trust,” said Girolami. “For me, it’s a great challenge to return to racing in South America officially representing Hyundai.
“Projects linked to the manufacturers are very important to me, and in this case, returning to South American motorsport, with the growth it has experienced in recent years, is a wonderful challenge that comes at a point in my career with a lot of experience and maturity.
“I hope to have a good start to the year and be able to fight for the championship. I think it’s going to be a very competitive year for the category, where it will certainly be difficult, but we’ll be up to the task and able to fight for the title.”
Director of Hyundai MSA Fineschi has high hopes for working with Girolami in this year’s TCR South America season.
“For us as a team, it’s a great joy to have Néstor Girolami on board, given his extensive experience in the world of motorsport,” added Fineschi.
“He’s coming to race in South America on circuits he knows very well, having competed in the most important categories in Argentina and Brazil.
“I was fortunate enough to work with him in the FIA TCR World Tour as his performance engineer. It’s a great satisfaction to have him on board, and it raises the bar for us to be contenders alongside Hyundai.
“I thank Néstor, Hyundai, and our entire team for the effort they’ve made to kick off this TCR South America Banco BRB season with the highest expectations.”