TCR – Gabriele Tarquini at the service of Hyundai

After the program WRC and customer competition in rally based on the i20, Hyundai had recently announced its desire to develop its activities via the circuit and a future commitment to the TCR Series with the i30.

This Monday, the Korean brand has confirmed the recruitment of Italian Gabriele Tarquini as test driver. The old pilot F1 had converted to touring events in the 90s, notably winning the coveted British Touring Car Championship title with Alfa Romeo, before turning towards the DTM, the ETCC (victory in 2003) then in the WTCC, with the world title in 2009 with Seat.

Resident of the Honda fold in recent years, the Transalpine will be able to put all his experience to the benefit of Hyundai, and will also discover the specificities of the TCR Series. “This will be the first time I will develop a TCR car and being the test driver for the project is an exciting new challenge for me, comments Tarquini.

I can't wait to get started and use my experience to start developing a car from an almost blank sheet of paper. I met some of the engineers on the project when I visited the team headquarters and I am confident that we can work together to make the car competitive under very strict regulations. »

The first runs are planned for next month, and the development program must include sessions on the Nordschleife at the Nürburgring. The launch of the future Hyundai should take place in September.