Hyundai Motorsport’s testing programme for the New Generation i30 TCR continued earlier this week with three days at Valencia’s Circuito Ricardo Tormo. This was the third test for the Korean car, after Motorland Aragón and Misano, always with former Touring Car world champion Gabriele Tarquini at the wheel.

With its mix of high and low speed corners the Spanish racetrack offered the test team the opportunity to improve specific areas of performance, fully assessing the balance of the chassis in a variety of situations. Different brake materials and damper settings were also tested and with each set-up change Hyundai Motorsport’s squad of engineers could compare the data with those gained in the previous runs.

Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing department manager Andrea Adamo said: “Already we have proved that we have a very strong base car. However, this early in a project there are always areas where you can still increase performance and, more importantly for customer project, improve drivability. After establishing the foundations for the set-up at our previous tests we are now building on to them. At Valencia we focused on the damper and brake settings, and we finished this week with very good information in these areas. Future tests will concentrate on other areas, such as developing the aerodynamic package and maximizing the power from the engine.”