Bollettino di riepilogo dei risultati dei clienti di Hyundai Motorsport

• HMO Customer Racing drivers won two of the three TCR Australia races at Sydney Motorsport Park during a great weekend for i30 N TCR customers in the series
• Max Hart now leads the TCR UK standings after a pair of victories when the championship visited the Donington Park GP circuit
• Hyundai España-supported i20 N Rally2 driver Pepe López won his second consecutive Spanish Superchampionship round and moved into the points’ lead.

Alzenau, Germany

June 6, 2022 – Hyundai Motorsport customers in both circuit racing and rallying continue to show the excellent potential of the cars built in Alzenau. i30 N TCR drivers scored victories in national and international competitions, while the Elantra N TCR was given its first win in Spanish competition. Also in Spain i20 N Rally2 crews head the country’s main rally championship after another strong weekend. Elsewhere there were dominant wins in Slovenia and Sweden for crews with the i20 N Rally2 and i20 R5 respectively.

i30 N TCR drivers star in Sydney with super weekend

i30 N TCR customers enjoyed a hugely successful outing at Sydney Motorsport Park (May 27-29) with Hyundai on the podium in all three TCR Australia races at the venue. HMO Customer Racing driver Josh Buchan started the weekend in near-perfect style with a lights-to-flag win in Saturday evening’s Race 1.

Starting Race 2 from 10^th on the partly reversed grid, Buchan would finish 11^th as he ran on used tyres – an alternative strategy to many during the weekend. His role as the leading i30 N TCR went to Luke King, who broke through for his first podium with the car in only his second racing weekend with the Hyundai. Finishing second, he headed home HMO Customer Racing driver Nathan Morcom.

Morcom would continue his own strong weekend in Race 3 as he took the lead half way around lap one and held on for his first win of the season. Initially, he was followed through by King, who kept second for the first half of the race before being overhauled by Buchan – now on fresher tyres as his strategy for the weekend played out. The trio were on course for a first-ever Hyundai 1-2-3 in the highly competitive series until the final lap, when King dropped to fourth.

Double victory propels Hart into championship lead
 
Victory in both races of the weekend on the Donington Park GP circuit (May 28-29) lifted Max Hart to the top of the TCR UK points’ standings. In both contests he was able to take his JamSport-run i30 N TCR to the front early, and then break away from those behind.
 
In the first race of the weekend he headed a 1-2 for Hyundai customers, with Bradley Kent taking second – his first podium of the season – in his Essex & Kent Motorsport i30 N TCR. Elder brother – and defending series’ champion Lewis Kent – was third over the line in his Veloster N TCR, but was pushed back to fourth by a penalty after the chequered flag. The race also gave Alex Ley a superb debut in TCR competition, as he finished a fantastic sixth with an i30 N TCR. In a third Essex & Kent Motorsport entry Scott Sumpton made it five Hyundai in the top ten.
 
Courtesy of his Race 1 win, Hart started the second encounter from tenth. However, a superb opening lap left him third before a Safety Car period interrupted the action. Once the race restarted Hart quickly found his way back to the front. Lewis Kent was also in podium contention, but was one of those to lose out in a fierce battle – as he was pushed wide twice. He would finish eighth, with Andy Wilmot ninth in his i30 N TCR.

Misano weekend ends with Hyundai podium sweep
 
A 1-2-3 finish in Race 2 provided the highlight for Hyundai customers in TCR Italy at Misano (2-5 June). From pole position CRM Motorsport driver Michele Imberti slotted into the lead in his i30 N TCR, with Niels Langeveld holding onto second in his Target Competition-run Elantra N TCR. The trio was completed by Kevin Ceccon, who moved up a position on the opening lap to occupy third place.
 
The three held firm throughout the race – despite two restarts after Safety Car interventions – for the podium sweep behind Imberti’s first career win in the championship.
 
The second place helped Langeveld up to second in the standings at the half way point in the season after he had finished seventh in Race 1. Despite missing the previous round due to commitments with Hyundai Motorsport’s FIA ETCR program, Ceccon sits third after a pair of third place finishes at Misano in his Team Aggressive Italia Elantra N TCR – the first of which was clinched on the final lap.
 
In a strong weekend for Hyundai customerhere were also top ten finishes for i30 N TCR drivers Cesare Brusa – fifth and seventh in Race 1 and 2 respectively – and Imberti’s CRM Motorsport team-mate Ettore Carminati for tenth in Race 1.

Three i30 N TCR drivers score podiums at Red Bull Ring
 
All three Hyundai i30 N TCR customers in action at the Red Bull Ring round of TCR Eastern Europe (June 3-5) left the track with podiums to celebrate. For the meeting – the second in the season – TCR Germany regular Patrick Sing joined the pair of Janík Motorsport drivers on the grid, and it was Sing who stormed to a maiden TCR win in Race 1, going from fourth to the lead in just three laps before defending his lead for the remaining laps to take the win by half a second. He was joined on the podium by Václav Janík, who claimed his first podium of the season in third.
 
The Janík Motorsport team owner was back on the podium in Race 2 – again in third – one place behind team-mate Petr Semerád, who had to battle through from 13th on the grid after being forced out of Race 1. Sing finished fifth in the race, despite being given a five-second penalty after the chequered flag. 

Elantra N TCR customers score first TCR Spain victory
 
Teo Martin Motorsport driver Alejandro Geppert gave the Elantra N TCR its first win in TCR Spain at Jerez (May 28-29). In only his second weekend with the car he led a 1-2 finish for the squad ahead of team-mate Miguel Villacieros. Across the three races of the weekend Geppert was on the podium on each occasion – finishing second in Race 1 and 3 – while Villacieros was able to take third in Race 1 before moving up a position for the following contest.

Top ten finishes from tough South American weekend
 
Pedro Aizza could only come away with a pair of top-ten places to show from two races at Goiânia (June 3-5), the third weekend of the TCR South America series. After qualifying in the top ten the Scuderia Chiarelli driver took his Elantra N TCR to tenth in Race 1. From his spot on the partly-reversed grid for Race 2 he looked set for a good result – taking up second place at the start and successfully defending his spot through the opening laps. However, he was one of two drivers penalized for a jump start and returned to the race in 12^th after a drive-through penalty. He was able to use his pace to catch those ahead, taking the final spot in top ten on the final lap. 
 
WRC2 stage wins prove pace of i20 N Rally2
 
Back-to-back WRC2 stage wins to start Saturday at Rally Italia Sardegna (2-5 June) once more proved the pace of the i20 N Rally2 at the highest level, as Hyundai Motorsport’s team of Teemu Suninen and Fabrizio Zaldivar continued their season. Suninen was contending for the podium before having to retire for the day before Friday’s final test, and though his bounced back the following morning with the two top times a technical problem again left him on the sidelines before the end of the day.
 
He completed the four stages of Sunday, including taking two points from the Power Stage. Zaldivar’s sixth fastest time on the Power Stage was his best of the weekend, though he too was taken out of contention on Saturday after a strong and consistent first half of the rally on the rough gravel stages which had established him among the top ten in the WRC2 order. He eventually finished ninth in the WRC2 Junior class, one spot behind Irish driver Josh McErlean.

Gravel victory lifts i20 N Rally2 crew to championship lead
 
Pepe López claimed a second consecutive win in the Spanish Superchampionship at the Rally Ciudad de Pozoblanco (May 27-28). The Hyundai España-supported i20 N Rally2 driver led throughout the gravel event after winning the first three stages. He and co-driver Borja Rozada added two more top times through the second half of the rally – including the TC+ power stage.
 
The win – their second in the three events of the season so far – put them to the top of the championship where they lead a 1-2-3 for i20 N Rally2 crews. Surhayen Pernía and Alba González now lie second in the standings after finishing fourth of those taking points from the latest round. Iván Ares and David Vásquez – previous leaders – fell to third after crashing out while holding a podium place.

Dominant win and Hyundai 1-2 in Slovenian championship
 
i20 N Rally2 crew Rok Turk and Blanka Kacin scored a dominant win at Rally Velenje (May 26-28). The duo won 10 of the 12 stages on the event overall, and were the fastest of those running in the Slovenian national championship on every single test over the weekend. The performance gave the Hyundai Slovenia-backed pair the overall victory by over 20 seconds. In the national championship they led a Hyundai 1-2, competed by Marco Grossi, who took his Friulmotor-run i20 R5 to fourth overall.

Dominant, controlled win for i20 R5 on Swedish gravel
 
i20 R5 driver Tom Kristensson took a superb overall victory at the South Swedish Rally (26-28 May) after victory on the opening stage – also the longest of the weekend – gave him a lead he never gave up during the 12-stage event. Though he and co-driver Andreas Johansson only added one more stage win to their tally after the opener, the excellent reliability of their Kowax 2Brally-run car allowed them to ease to the win by over a minute.
 
In his own i20 R5 William Binbach was also on the list of stage winners – for the fastest time on SS8 – on his way to fifth place overall.
 
Podium keeps up early season momentum in UK
 
James Williams continued his promising start to the British Rally Championship season by finishing second at the Jim Clark Rally (May 27-28). He started the event with the third fastest time on the opening stage, and then moved up to second on the following test, and held the spot through the rest of the rally. The i20 R5 driver completed the weekend with the fastest time on the final competitive test to keep up his early championship challenge in his first year as a Hyundai customer.

Moffett continues winning run in Irish national competition
 
Josh Moffett won six of the nine stages on the Limerick Circuit of Munster Rally (5 June) to extend his winning run in the series to five at the start of the 2022 Irish national championship season. By winning the first five stages Moffett and co-driver Andy Hayes pulled out a lead of more than 50 seconds. Over the second half of the rally they were able to protect their advantage – while also adding a further stage win – adding a further six seconds to their final margin of victory.
 
Top five results for i20 R5 crews in the Canaries
 
Drivers Benjamin Avella and Antonio Ponce put two i20 R5 in the top five overall at the Rally Isla de Gran Canaria (3-4 June). Avella finished an impressive second – and was the only man other that the victory to take a stage victory away from the event. Ponce, in turn, narrowly missed out on joining him in the podium places in fourth.

Hyundai Motorsport Deputy Team Principal Julien Moncet said: “The recent successes of our TCR customers puts them in great positions in the respective series’ and proves both the performance of the Hyundai Elantra N TCR and i30 N TCR, and the value to the support provided by the Customer Racing department. i30 N TCR drivers won in four different series, with many other podium finishes and excellent finishes – including for those in their first few events with a Hyundai. Our Elantra N TCR customers continue to amass good results of their own. Niels Langeveld and Kevin Ceccon are very well placed in the TCR Italy standings, and Teo Martin Motorsport gave the car its first TCR Spain wins. In rallying we can also celebrate wins for both the i20 N Rally2 and i20 R5, with crews using the strengths of the cars to put together hugely positive starts to the seasons and show the potential performance of the chassis at every level.”