MOTORSPORT: Hyundai Australia goes racing

The tarmac rally-prepared Hyundai i30 N will be driven by international rally competitor and Hyundai WRC development driver Brendan Reeves, who also has extensive experience in the Tasmanian event and will again team up with co-driver and sister Rhianon Gelsomino.

Hyundai said Reeves provided invaluable feedback to its engineers during local development of the production i30 N’s chassis and suspension calibration before its release in 2018.

Reeves, 30, made his Targa Tassie debut a decade ago and scored a best result of fourth outright in 2011, when he also logged a convincing Targa Showroom class victory.

The Reeves Hyundai i30 N will compete for both GT2 class and outright honours alongside more fancied entries including seven-times Targa Tassie winners Jason and John White, who won the 2018 event in a 2016 Dodge Viper
ACR Extreme.

“We’ll be in the GT2 class, which is effectively the outright class, so we’ll definitely be batting above our weight,” said Reeves.

“We’re aiming for a top 10 result and if we can get into the top five by the end of the weeklong event that would be awesome.

“You’re racing against supercars, so it’s always a challenge, but if we can stay in there for the long haul and get to the finish, we should get a really good result.”

Reeves said contesting four rounds of the summertime Whiteline Tarmac Rally Sprint Series, which concludes this month, proved to be a valuable testing ground in the lead up to Targa.

“We’ve been testing different setups and tyre compounds with the aim of tackling Targa this year,” he said. “The whole time we’ve been competing in the Tarmac Rally Sprint Series all we’ve been thinking about is Targa, and how we can best develop the car.

“I’m really excited about Targa because I’ve been working with Hyundai for over two years helping develop the i30 N as a road car, and now I get to race it in arguably the best tarmac rally in the world.

“I was excited about this car right from the start because it’s a hot hatch and that’s what I’ve grown up rallying; it’s what I’m used to driving.”

Reeves said the Caltex-sponsored Hyundai i30 N would compete in Tasmania with standard suspension.

“The i30 N, with its driver-adjustable suspension, will help us to adapt the car to the changeable weather conditions which are one of the big challenges of Targa.

“It’s part of the plan to use the standard suspension so when it’s wet we can soften the car with the N custom mode, or when it’s dry we can stiffen the suspension up, just by touching a button.”

Alongside its factory-backed GT2 entry, Hyundai will field a trio of newly launched i30 Fastback N media cars in the non-competitive Targa Tour class for motoring journalists.

“The i30 N hot hatchback’s giant-killing ability matched with Brendan Reeves’ extensive rally experience makes a potent pairing for Hyundai Australia’s first entry in an Australian motorsport event,” said Hyundai Motor Company Australia CEO, JW Lee.

“We are excited at the potential for a strong result in the grueling Targa Tasmania event, and to prove the performance and durability of the i30 N amidst fierce competition.”

Hyundai’s Targa announcement comes just days after the production i30 N hot hatch competed against a Hyundai i30 N TCR racer and a V10 Cosworth-powered Minardi two-seater F1 car in the Ultimate Speed Comparison at the Australian Grand Prix.

Hyundai will be represented in the inaugural 2019 Australian TCR Series by at least two i30 N racers entered by HMO Customer Racing in Sydney, as part of a deal negotiated directly with Hyundai Motorsport in Germany.

While the Hyundai i30 N TCR claimed last year’s inaugural US series for front-drive 2.0-litre production-base cars, HMO Customer Racing is also offering local customers race-ready versions of the Hyundai i20 RS that competes in the WRC.

To be held over April 29-May 4, the 2019 Targa Tasmania will be the 28th running of Australia’s premier tarmac rally, a six-day event that caters to touring, regularity and outright competitors in vintage, classic, early modern and modern vehicles.