SEBRING, Fla. – There will be a new manufacturer led by a championship-winning organization in the IMSA paddock when teams descend upon Daytona International Speedway next January.
Hyundai and Bryan Herta Autosport announced Friday at Sebring International Raceway as part of the Michelin IMSA SportsCar Encore its plans to compete fulltime in the IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge in 2019 with the all-new Hyundai Veloster N TCR race car.
The Veloster N TCR was designed by the same Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Team that developed the i30 N TCR. Like its i30 stablemate, the Veloster N TCR will be 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 will be fully unveiled closer to the start of the 2019 IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge season, which kicks off on Jan. 25 at Daytona International Speedway.
The Veloster N TCR is part of the ongoing rollout of the Hyundai N brand globally and addresses the 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.
The addition of the Veloster N TCR to the customer motorsports lineup gives teams in national markets where the Veloster N road car is available a more relevant platform for their respective audiences.
In the United States, Bryan Herta Autosport is the designated sales agent for the Veloster N TCR and i30 N TCR customer cars. Bryan Herta Autosport will also provide technical assistance, spares, and parts support to teams campaigning Hyundai TCR models in the U.S.