26.04.2016 Press release

On the road as on the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife

  • Qualifier for the 24-hour marathon opens the new racing season
  • Hyundai aims to remain top of the class, including in the 24-hour race
  • Hyundai series models are a strong basis for the racing versions

Press material

In its fourth racing season Hyundai Motor got off to a successful start on the Nürburgring’s legendary Nordschleife.
In the qualifying race for the 24-hour endurance classic on 28/29 May 2016 on the challenging racetrack the Hyundai i30 Turbo came first in its class in a field of more than 70 cars. In the race against time on the 25.378 kilometre track the near-series racing version of the i30 Turbo put to good use the strong points that characterise every Hyundai: powerful, reliable technology that stands strong in continuous use. 
The totally unpredictable weather was an additional challenge on the track that is challenging at the best of times. It ranged from sunshine to hailstorms, a mixture that took both drivers and cars to their limits. That is precisely why Hyundai uses the Nordschleife for testing purposes: not just to gain racing experience that finds its way into series development but also as the test track of a local test centre. One kilometre on the Nordschleife takes it out on a car as much as around 15 kilometres of everyday use. So the 33 laps that the Hyundai i30 Turbo covered in the qualifying race correspond to nearly 12,500 kilometres in road traffic. The 230-PS racing car cleared this hurdle again with its reliability and without a single technical error - just as in the car’s first season in 2015. Last year, Hyundai upgraded its Nordschleife commitment by entering a further model, the new i30 Turbo. The first model to be used was the Hyundai Veloster Turbo, which is now into its fourth Nordschleife season and has now clocked up more than 20,000 racing kilometres. In 2014, the Veloster came out on top in its SP2T class in the 24-hour race besides other wins in the VLN long-distance championship series. The brand new i30 Turbo followed suit in 2015. This year the duo aims to make it a hat trick, proving what a strong basis Hyundai’s series models are for motor racing.
Motor sports enthusiast Markus Schrick, Managing Director of Hyundai Motor Deutschland, feels his team is well equipped for the new Nordschleife season. “In the opening event we clocked up constantly good lap times with the Hyundai i30 Turbo, leading together with the faultless technology to a further class win. Precision work on the chassis and bodywork in the winter has contributed to its success. We are naturally holding on to our concept of keeping the race version close to the series production. The quality of i30 Turbo is an important key to success.”
The same applies to the tried and tested Hyundai Veloster Turbo, the brakes of which have been modified to include racing-specific components. Unfortunately, a problem arose in this area with the result that the Veloster Turbo was retired to the pits for safety’s sake half way through the qualifying race. The fault in the brake system has since been identified and rectified, so the Veloster will now be able to compete in the next races.

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