Hyundai considering Australian guest entry

Hyundai Motorsport could elect to send a factory driver to compete in TCR Australia at some point in the future.

Audi, Honda and Peugeot have all sent drivers to compete in the series in a guest capacity in the past with Jean-Karl Vernay – now part of the Hyundai WTCR line-up – amongst them.

Discussions had taken place about a guest driver appearing previously, although it could happen in 2022 or beyond as borders reopen following the pandemic.

“It’d be something that we’d still consider to be able to send a driver over,” Customer Racing Manager Andrew Johns said. “We’ll see what the future brings.

“We were damn keen to get over and do a round of TCR Australia. We were talking to the Australian Racing Group, as we were trying every which way we could to try and get a car over there, with a driver and engineer.

“We tried everything, but we didn’t have availability of cars because it would be gone for so long.”

HMO Racing has campaigned the i30 N TCR since the Australian series kicked off, winning the inaugural title with Will Brown. Nathan Morcom currently sits fourth this time around ahead of the Bathurst finale.

“HMO set the bar in 2019 and others will be wanting to surpass its results, but we’re very happy with the team and its achievements this season,” Johns added.

“We’re fully committed to supporting the i30 N TCR through engineering, development and spare parts support.”