MEN ON A MISSION
Hyundai’s individual talents that make for a winning team
ANDREA ADAMO – TEAM DIRECTOR,
Hyundai Motorsport
One of the experts Hyundai has brought in to strengthen its motorsport activities is Andrea Adamo. After a long stint at Fiat and consulting for race teams, Adamo established Hyundai’s Customer Racing department to look after sales of the i20 R5 rally and i30 N TCR race cars to privateers. At the beginning of 2019 he took over responsibility for all of Hyundai’s motorsport activities from its base in Alzenau, Bavaria.
He has found the experience of working for Hyundai refreshing: ‘We have a saying in Italy that an old fish starts to smell from the head. It means if a company is not going well it is normally because of the leadership. From Korea we have good leadership, a clear direction. We know where we need to go.’
Part of the plan isn’t just to win races: it is to sell race and rally cars to customers. This has multiplied the marketing effect of racing cars, he says: ‘People have seen Hyundai cars around on the street and know they are stylish. When they see them race, they know they can be sporty and win, too. They are not just a family car any more. Our operation means we can support the cars run by the Hyundai subsidiaries and private drivers and have more cars racing and winning. It is spreading the message faster.’
So far, Hyundai Motorsport has built around 70 i30 N TCR cars. The bodyshells are taken from the production line in the Czech Republic and then built up with race-spec parts. The engine was developed jointly with Hyundai’s engineers in Namyang. Adamo says: ‘We work very closely with them; there’s a constant exchange of information and it is very useful to be able to have access to the facilities.’
What sort of people buy them? ‘All kinds. Some professional drivers, but we also have young drivers coming up from lower-category racing, and people who buy them just to be amused at the weekend.’
GABRIELE TARQUINI –
Racing driver
Gabriele Tarquini is one of the world’s most experienced racing drivers. He started karting in 1967 when he was five years old and has raced at the highest level, including in 78 Formula 1 Grands Prix. But it is in touring cars where he really made his mark, behind the wheels of Alfa Romeos, BMWs, SEATs, Hondas, Volvos and Ladas in the British,
Italian and world series. Since 2017 he has been part of Hyundai Motorsport, working as a development driver and using his experience to help create the i30 N TCR. He also raced the car in its first season and his work was rewarded with the WTCR championship in 2018.
‘Racing has always been my life,’ he says, ‘probably because I lived close to a go-karting track. My career has been very long; when I was 38 or 39 I was thinking maybe I would retire in one or two years, but this fire inside never stops. I love the adrenaline – it is a passion.’ When Hyundai called him, Tarquini was again thinking maybe it was time to retire. ‘But I felt that this company is not like the others. They are putting together all the ingredients to do a good job. They have the enthusiasm, the budget and the right team. We had six months to develop the car without racing too. So, when we raced for the first time, we won.’
Unlike other cars Tarquini has raced, the i30 N TCR is very closely related to the road-going model. ‘The link is very strong. Without a good base we cannot make a strong racer. And it is not just for a professional driver. We made it so that an amateur can get in and race it without a team and a lot of mechanics around. It is very easy to drive, and you can win in it.’
THIERRY NEUVILLE –
WRC and TCR driver
Belgian Thierry Neuville is a man of many talents. He is fluent in three languages and slips from German to French to English and back again without a breath. He is also, it seems, capable of switching from one form of motorsport to another just as seamlessly.
He’s most famous for rallying, having been with the Hyundai team since it started competing in the WRC in 2014. The 31-year-old has scored 11 victories and finished runner-up in the championship four times. But to prove there’s not just one string to his bow, Neuville stepped into a spare Hyundai i30 N TCR at a race on the Nürburgring and took pole position, fastest lap and eventually the win too – all on his circuit racing debut.
‘I have always been a fan of rally, mainly,’ he explains, ‘but my family lived very close to Spa-Francorchamps and it was always a big occasion to go and watch the racing there. All of my family love cars.
‘I love to drive fast – the adrenaline, tension and pressure. Rally is the most challenging sport in the world because so much can happen. But it was a great experience to swap to TCR. It was very natural to drive on tarmac, as I do this in WRC and I’m very fast. I had a good setup and confidence. It was good fun.’