With a new generation of Hyundai owners buying the high-performance Veloster N as cars hit dealer lots, Hyundai fuels the excitement even further with the debut of the Veloster N TCR race car.
The Veloster N TCR joins the competition in the 2019 International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Michelin Pilot Challenge. At North America’s premier racetracks, it will line up on the grid alongside the Honda Civic Type R TCR, Volkswagen GTI TCR and Audi RS3 LMS TCR.
Hyundai Motor America adds the Veloster N TCR to its championship-winning customer motorsports program operated by Bryan Herta Autosport. Herta’s team will prepare two 350-hp Veloster N TCRs for the upcoming season.
“The Veloster is a perfect fit for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge as we expand our motorsports efforts,” said Dean Evans, vice president, marketing, Hyundai Motor America. “The all-new 2019 Veloster and Veloster N are playful, fun-to-drive cars, and thanks to Bryan and his team we’re excited to introduce them to racing fans across North America. In 2018, we won a manufacturer’s championship, so it is great to get back to racing with our proven veterans, a pair of great young drivers, and this brand-new car.”
One car will be piloted by Hyundai TCR veterans Michael Lewis and Mark Wilkins, while the team’s second entry will be driven by team newcomers Mason Filippi, 20, and Harry Gottsacker, 18.
“The success we had last year with the i30 N TCR inspired us to expand Hyundai’s motorsports program and bring the Veloster N TCR into a tougher series with longer races and more experienced drivers,” said Bryan Herta, president and CEO of Bryan Herta Autosport. “Transforming the Veloster’s lightweight, rigid architecture into an endurance race car will help us build credibility for Hyundai’s growing N brand and bolster the reverse-halo effect that the Veloster brings to Hyundai’s diverse vehicle lineup. We can’t wait to get this new car out on the track and into competition.”
The 2019 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Season spans 10 rounds at tracks across North America, and the season kicks off Jan. 25 at Daytona International Speedway.
VELOSTER N TCR RACE CAR
The Veloster N TCR was designed by the same Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Team that developed the championship-winning i30 N TCR. Like its i30 stablemate, the Veloster N TCR is produced at Hyundai Motorsport Headquarters in Alzenau, Germany.
The two cars share around 85 percent of their core components, including the 350-hp 2.0-liter turbocharged engine.
The Veloster N TCR is part of the ongoing rollout of the Hyundai N brand globally, and addresses requests of Hyundai Motorsport customer teams in select national markets where the i30 N TCR race car was in competition, but the i30 N road car was not part of a region’s production-vehicle model range, according to the company.
Both Veloster N TCR and i30 N TCR are fully homologated for competition in officially sanctioned TCR series. Priority for initial Veloster N TCR deliveries, however, will go to customer teams in markets where the Veloster N road car is offered.
In the U.S., Bryan Herta Autosport is the designated sales agent for Hyundai TCR customer race cars. The company will also provide technical assistance, spares and parts support to teams campaigning Hyundai TCR models across the country.
