Gabriele Tarquini confident Hyundai will be ”competitive straight away”

Gabriele Tarquini will make his TCR International Series debut with the all-new Hyundai i30 N TCR, a car he is confident will be competitive straight out of the box.

“I hope the car will be competitive straight away and I am confident because we have worked hard to develop it,” said Tarquini.

”In this respect, I am pleased that our maiden appearance will be on a track that is new for everybody, as this will help us to make up for the lack of experience in the championship. As a matter of fact, I am a ‘rookie’ in TCR!”

The 1994 BTCC champion will drive the Hyundai in the two final races in China and the United Arab Emirates alongside touring car legend Alain Menu.

“I think he has been a good pick,” said Tarquini. ”These two race meetings will mark the end of the course we have done to develop the racing car. They will provide the ultimate inputs before producing the cars for the customer teams. Just like me, Alain has a huge experience of working with manufacturers in developing touring cars. With the two of us working together, the team will benefit from a double source of information to do the final adjustments.”

Tarquini has been part of the development with Hyundai since the beginning and says he feels like a father for the new race car.

“It’s like to be father again! In fact, I consider the i30 N TCR like a child of my own that I have grown up until the moment is ready to leave home. I am proud of driving for Hyundai and grateful to them for the opportunity they gave me to follow the development of the i30 N TCR from the very beginning until its racing debut,” said Tarquini.