Hyundai Motor : Motorsport Takes Tremendous 1-2 Finish at the 2021 Nürburgring 24 Hours

• · Hyundai Motorsport's pair of TCR cars finished first and second in class at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, with the Elantra N TCR team victorious
• · The pair of cars dominated the fog-affected event, with both the pole-sitting Elantra N TCR and the i30 N TCR leading for stints during the contest
• · The near-production i20 N finished a commendable 97^th overall as they raced through the varied conditions of the weekend despite a short stop in the pits for repairs on Saturday

NÜRBURG, June 6, 2021 -Hyundai Motorsport's pair of TCR cars dominated the TCR class of the Nürburgring 24 Hours to take their first class victory at the famous event in style at the head of a tremendous 1-2 finish for the Elantra N TCR and i30 N TCR.

The two cars qualified first and second in the class - the Elantra N TCR shared by Marc Basseng, Manuel Lauck and Moritz Oestreich, taking pole. It was an advantage that Basseng used to great effect to move into the lead for the first part of the race ahead of the i30 N TCR that was started by Luca Engstler - he would hand over to Hendrik Still and Jean-Karl Vernay in turn. In changing conditions through the opening hours the pair of Hyundai swapped the lead of the category. After starting on slick tyres both cars had to stop for wets with near perfect timing as weather conditions deteriorated - catching out many other teams.

Though the track dried as the six-hour mark approached, a fog descended on the 25km Nürburgring Nordschleife, reducing visibility to the point where race organisers put out the red flag, suspending the action for over 14 hours until the green flag flew again at 12 noon on Sunday.

Unfortunately, the stoppage erased an 11-minute advantage for the two Hyundai entries over their nearest rival. Such was the time loss that when both cars pitted soon after the restart it saw the Hyundai Motorsport team lose the class lead for the first - and only - occasion during the race.

As the greater performance of the Hyundai cars began to show through once more, and the differing strategies used up and down pitlane began to even out, the advantage at the front began to grow once more - finally extending to nearly a lap at the end of the race. The team's superb performance was celebrated with rapturous applause on the pitwall as the two Alzenau, Germany-built machines were bought across the line by Lauck and Vernay in 35^th and 36^th positions overall.

In its Nürburgring 24 Hours debut the near-production i20 N finished a strong 97^th overall. The car is the latest addition to the N line-up to take up the tradition of racing at the event and continue the strong links between the high-performance models and the Nürburgring circuit. The drivers - Marc Ehret, Kai Jordan, Markus Lungstrass and Guido Naumann - showed the strong performance and reliability of Hyundai's road-going designs, despite needing a stop for repairs on Saturday after a brush with a tyre wall.

Vice President and Head of N Brand Management and Motorsport Sub-Division at Hyundai Motor Company, Till Wartenberg said: 'We won the Nürburgring 24 Hours, and not only that we finished first and second in the TCR class with the Hyundai Elantra N TCR and Hyundai i30 N TCR. It's an incredible result for Hyundai Motorsport, for Hyundai, for the N brand and for everyone involved in the team - engineers, mechanics and of course the drivers. None of this would be possible without them. Through everything all three cars performed flawlessly and showed what we are capable of as a manufacturer in some of the toughest conditions on one of the most testing tracks in the world. The Hyundai i20 N team showed the excellent performance of our latest road car design, so it is clear that even more is to come from Hyundai and N.'

Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Manager Andrew Johns said: 'The Nürburgring 24 Hours is one of the biggest events on the racing calendar and remains one of the biggest challenges for both car and driver. For the last three seasons we have stood on the class podium at the race, but to take class victory and a 1-2 finish is a massive achievement at the end of extensive preparation and hard work both at the track and by our Customer Racing department engineers. The driving teams for both the Hyundai Elantra N TCR and Hyundai i30 N TCR were also excellent through the entire event and the double podium is nothing less than they and the team deserved. Qualifying first and second showed the pure performance of the chassis, and the race results - however shortened it was - proved the reliability and balance of the car that the drivers were able to handle all of the varying conditions during the weekend.'

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About Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Established on 19 December 2012, Hyundai Motorsport GmbH is responsible for Hyundai's global motorsport activities, including the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Customer Racing and electric racing projects. In WRC, Hyundai Motorsport quickly established a strong reputation taking victory in its debut season in 2014. The team finished as runners- up in the manufacturers' championship on three consecutive occasions between 2016 and 2018 before claiming its first title in 2019 and repeating the feat in 2020. Since the establishment of its Customer Racing activities in September 2015, Hyundai Motorsport has become a trusted partner for teams and drivers looking for success on the rally stages or on racetracks around the world. From its competitive i20 R5 rally car to the competitive i30 N TCR, Hyundai Motorsport-built cars have claimed victory in several championships, including national rally series in France and Spain, as well as consecutive titles in the FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) in 2018 and 2019. Designed and built at its Alzenau headquarters, the Veloster N ETCR was unveiled in September 2019 and heralds an exciting new era, in which electric racing is set to become one of the company's pillars. Unified under Hyundai Motorsport, WRC, Customer Racing and electric racing are together playing instrumental roles in driving Hyundai's global high-performance N brand and are supporting an important perception shift for the Hyundai brand around the world.

Further information about Hyundai Motorsport is available at: http://motorsport.hyundai.com

About Hyundai Motor Company

Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Company is present in over 200 countries with more than 120,000 employees dedicated to tackling real-world mobility challenges around the globe. Based on the brand vision 'Progress for Humanity,' Hyundai Motor is accelerating its transformation into a Smart Mobility Solution Provider. The company invests in advanced technologies such as robotics and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) to bring about revolutionary mobility solutions, while pursuing open innovation to introduce future mobility services. In pursuit of sustainable future for the world, Hyundai will continue its efforts to introduce zero emission vehicles equipped with industry-leading hydrogen fuel cell and EV technologies.

More information about Hyundai Motor and its products can be found at:http://worldwide.hyundai.com or http://globalpr.hyundai.com/

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