The Hyundai Veloster N ETCR car that will enter the new electric touring car race series in 2021 has been fitted with its drivetrain.

Integration of the electrical systems into the Hyundai Veloster N ETCR car was carried out at the Oxfordshire, UK, premises of the championship’s contracted electrics supplier, Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE), under the supervision of Gergeli Bári, ETCR technical director of the series promoter WSC.

Delayed some six months by travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the integration process took four days, followed by three days of shakedown and calibration testing at the Great Tew private test circuit. A specific ETCR-laboratory car built by WSC was on hand to replicate and resolve any potential issues during the integration process.

Maurício Slaviero, Head of the ETCR project for WSC Group, was delighted with the successful completion of the first integration process: “As a result of Covid, it has been a long wait, but we are finally able to move ahead.”

Williams Advanced Engineering’s ETCR senior program manager Alec Patterson commented that the successful initial physical testing phase had validated all the preparation work the engineers completed in the digital environment and on the electrical lab car beforehand.

“The teams now head to Italy for further track testing, allowing them to correlate their analysis tools in a simulated race environment, optimizing all the electrical systems prior to final delivery of the batteries for the start of the program in 2021,” he said.

Hyundai was the second brand to commit to ETCR following the Cupra built as the prototype for the championship. Systems integration of the Cupra, the Alfa Romeo Giulia and an MG model will follow and the four cars will then be submitted for homologation, after which their manufacturers will be able to produce and sell cars for any individual ETCR championships in the future.

Originally planned to run a demonstration season in 2020 but delayed by Covid-19, the international Pure ETCR series will now commence in 2021. The electric championship is based around a novel rallycross-style heat format, which was detailed in the April 2020 edition of PMW.

The post Hyundai ETCR car development progresses appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

Hyundai Motorsport has revealed the Elantra N TCR touring car for sale to teams racing in the various TCR series around the world.

Unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show, the Elantra is the third Hyundai to be built for TCR, following the i30 N and Veloster N.

Its reveal comes less than a week after the South Korean brand withdrew cars run by its customer teams in the FIA World Touring Car Cup, in a row over balance of performance and ECU requirements.

According to Hyundai motorsport team principal Andrea Adamo, the Elantra TCR makes use of the experience gained in two years of racing the i30 N and Veloster but is a clean-sheet design.

“By starting with a clean sheet of paper the Customer Racing department designers and engineers have been able to take advantage of the opportunity to further improve all-round performance of the car,” Adamo said.

“We have already made great progress in developing the chassis with a number of different drivers to create a strong overall package for our customers to allow them to continue the success of Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing in TCR competition.”

The front-wheel-drive car is powered by a new 2-liter turbo engine developed from a base unit in the Hyundai road-going car range. It retains the 6-speed paddle shift transmission of previous Hyundai TCR models.

Over the past three months the car has completed more than 5,000km of testing at circuits across Europe, focusing on both sprint and endurance specifications and involving several Hyundai-contracted drivers, including 2018 WTCR champion Gabriele Tarquini.

“There are lots of small changes which customer teams and drivers will really appreciate, such as improvements in the steering system over the previous cars,” Tarquini said.

“Clearly the Elantra N TCR is much bigger, but the handling means that behind the wheel you cannot notice the difference,” he added.

The Elantra will go on sale to customer teams alongside the i30 N and Veloster, which will continue to be available in the Hyundai motorsport range.

The post Hyundai unveils Elantra TCR race car appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

Hyundai Motorsport has instructed its two customer FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) teams not to compete in the second meeting of the 2020 season, claiming that its cars are being technically penalized.

The South Korean brand announced its decision to withdraw the BRC Racing and Engstler Motorsport teams on the morning of practice and qualifying sessions at the meeting, on the Nurburgring Nordschleife in Germany.

Hyundai, provider of the car for the 2018 and 2019 WTCR champion drivers, was critical of the balance and performance (BoP) settings and engine ECU exemptions mandated by the series promoters before the opening WTCR rounds at Zolder on September 13.

A waiver issued by the FIA Touring Car Committee allowing several entrants to race with the 2019 ECU rather than a standardized Magneti Marelli unit introduced for 2020, angered Hyundai motorsport head Andrea Adamo, despite an increase in the BoP power of the brand’s i30 N TCR race cars from 95% to 97.5%.

At Zolder the Hyundais struggled for straight-line pace and their highest finish was eighth in race 2, benefiting from retirements. At the meeting Adamo hinted that if the brand was clearly not wanted in the series, it would withdraw.

Before the Nurburgring meeting the Touring Car Committee made BoP changes, restoring the Hyundais’ power to 97.5% but also reducing the compensation weight of the rival Cupra cars from +40kg to +20kg, and the Renault Megane RS from +30kg to +20kg.

Shortly after, however, Hyundai announced its withdrawal from the Nurburgring meeting. “Hyundai Motorsport has the feeling that neither the company nor its customer teams are given equal treatment in the series to other competitors and are not made to feel welcome,” a prepared statement said. “Hyundai Motorsport remains committed to demonstrating the high-performance credentials of its racing vehicles on an international stage, in series that are reflective of Hyundai’s N brand,” the statement added.

In response, a joint statement from the WTCR promoters, the FIA, WSC and Eurosport Events, said that constructive dialog would continue with the Hyundai Motorsport customer teams. “All the three parties are united in their mission to deliver a fair competition for all entrants, from a sporting, technical and promotional point of view, providing a platform to compete on an equal basis,” the statement said.

The post Hyundai withdraws WTCR teams in BoP controversy appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

The NTT IndyCar Series is to stage its first round in Nashville, Tennessee in 2021.

The Music City Grand Prix meeting will be held on August on 6-8 on a temporary street circuit. This will run through downtown Nashville and incorporate the Nissan Stadium, which will serve as the event paddock. The race will be a highlight of a three-day festival that will also showcase the music that Nashville is famed for.

Unveiling the 2.17-mile, 11-turn street course, IndyCar revealed that it will include features not seen before. The track will incorporate the Korean Veterans Memorial Bridge, making the event one of the only races in motorsport to cross a major body of water.

Mark Miles, president and CEO of Penske Entertainment Corp which runs the IndyCar Series, described the Music City Grand Prix as, “a one-of-a-kind NTT IndyCar Series experience anchored in the heart of Nashville’s action-packed, exhilarating downtown corridor”.

He continued, “Nashville is a world-class city and global entertainment capital that provides an exceptional platform for our Series. From professional sports teams and top live music acts to a burgeoning food and culture scene, it is a perfect home for a racing event of this magnitude.”

The NTT IndyCar Series is yet to unveil its full 2021 calendar. The 14-race 2020 schedule, delayed and revised due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is due to conclude at St Petersburg on October 25.

The post IndyCar adds Nashville to 2021 schedule appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, looks set to be transformed from a two-mile oval into a half-mile short track in a bold rebuilding project.

Local media in California reports that NASCAR has submitted plans for the transformation to San Bernardino County, within whose jurisdiction the Speedway is located.

If the rebuild goes ahead it is understood that construction would begin in 2021 but not affect the track’s Spring NASCAR Cup series date. The new track would be ready for racing in 2023.

Opened in 1997 as California Speedway and hosting NASCAR races from that year, the D-shaped oval also featured on the IndyCar Series calendar between 2002 and 2005 and 2012-2015. At one time it held two NASCAR Cup events in one season but the second September date proved short lived due to poor attendance. The track has also seen its seating capacity reduced in recent years while its remaining Cup race was reduced from 500 to 400 miles in 2011.

PMW understands a further concern is that the racing surface is overdue for replacement, and a new surface could result in ‘one-groove racing’ for several seasons until it ages. Reducing the lap length could produce the more dramatic races that are typical of short tracks and release valuable land for redevelopment.

Currently the NASCAR Cup calendar includes three short-track venues, the half-mile Bristol and Martinsville ovals and the three-quarter mile track at Richmond, which all host two races each season.

NASCAR has offered no details of the rebuilding project, but chief innovation officer Craig Neeb did confirm that the plans are at an early stage. “We are excited about what this ambitious project could mean for our loyal fans in Southern California,” he said.

“This is our first step toward creating a state-of-the-art facility that would deliver the intense short-track racing our fans love, an intimate viewing experience, and upgraded suites and hospitality areas that would position Auto Club Speedway among the top entertainment venues in the market.”

The post NASCAR Speedway to become short track appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

The Cupra brand will make its debut in the British Touring Car Championship in 2021, as Team Hard Racing replaces its ageing Volkswagen CCs.

The Kent-based team, which is headed by Tony Gilham, has announced that it intends to build at least two Cupra Leon cars to compete for the Independents championship in the 2021 BTCC.

The program will be the first time the Cupra badge has raced in the BTCC since SEAT separated its performance division into a standalone brand in 2018, though SEAT Leons did compete in the series as both manufacturer and independent entries between 2006 and 2013.

Since Cupra was launched as a distinct brand, the Cupra Leon has been a major entry in global TCR racing and the Cupra was also the first car built for the new ETCR electric touring car championship.

Team Hard has already begun development of the new cars and has been in consultation with Cosworth Electronics, which will be responsible for the introduction of hybrid drivetrains into the BTCC in 2022.

The team has campaigned the Volkswagen CC cars since 2013, in addition to running other brands. In 2020 three of the Volkswagens are being driven by Jack Goff, Ollie Brown and Nicolas Hamilton, while the team is also running a BMW 125i M Sport for Carl Boardley.

Gilham believes the Leon Cupra will make a highly capable BTCC entry. “We have done a lot of research and we believe that the dimensions and overall shape of the Cupra Leon will work perfectly with the current NGTC regulations that are in the BTCC,” he said.

“A lot of hard work and countless hours lie ahead, but we are confident that we can turn this new car into a competitive beast that will be mixing it at the front from the get-go next season,” Gilham added.

BTCC chief executive Alan Gow has welcomed the arrival of another new brand into the championship, following the arrival of Hyundai which ExcelR8 Motorsport has debuted in the series this season. “We set out the NGTC regulations to allow for great diversity and having the Cupra Leon on the grid is further proof of the strength of those regulations,” he said.

“It’s no secret that the Volkswagen CCs are one of the oldest on the grid but credit to Tony and his team for sticking with them and keeping the cars as competitive as possible – I look forward to seeing the step forward Team Hard Racing can make with completely new cars from next season.”

The post Team Hard to race Leon Cupras in BTCC appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

The veteran US motorsport team owner, who purchased both the 2.5-mile speedway and the IndyCar Series in November 2019, had been hoping to fill around 25% of the stadium’s 257,000 capacity for America’s most famed race. This has been rescheduled from May 24 to August 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But now a rise in Covid-19 cases across Indiana and the Midwest states of the USA has led to the decision to run the race behind closed doors, for the first time in its 109-year history.

In a statement, the Speedway said that a tough decision had been made following careful consideration and extensive consultation with state and city leadership. Spectators who have bought tickets will be able to retain them, and their chosen seats, for the 2021 race.

“We said from the beginning of the pandemic we would put the health and safety of our community first, and while hosting spectators at a limited capacity with our robust plan in place was appropriate in late June, it is not the right path forward based on the current environment,” the statement said.

IndyCar has been allowing limited numbers of spectators into its road-course races in recent weeks while NASCAR has also begun to permit some spectators to attend meetings at oval stadiums.

Practice for the 2020 Indianapolis 500 begins on August 12.

The post Indy 500 abandons plans to allow spectators appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

The battery pack that will be used in the new Pure ETCR electric touring car series has been unveiled, having been designed and produced by Williams Advanced Engineering in only seven months.

Williams drew on its extensive experience of electric powertrains in the design of the pack, the subsidiary of the Williams Formula 1 team having been the sole supplier of batteries to the Formula E electric single seater series from its inception in 2014 until the end of the 2018 season.

The 798V pack will produce peak power of 500kW and 300kW continuous power with a 62kWh capacity. Four push-to-pass activations will be possible per the 21-minute maximum race distance as per the series regulations.

The pack will be rechargeable from 10% to 90% power at 60kWh in less than one hour – ETCR intends its cars to be recharged at an ‘Energy Station’, which will form the centerpiece of a fanzone in the paddock, powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology.

The bespoke ETCR battery pack was designed in-house at Williams, combining its motorsport-designed Vehicle Control Module with a dual ARM Cortex-A9 processor and the Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

The battery cells are encased in a composite structure that has been designed to provide an electrical barrier against electromagnetic current and survive a 50g crash simulation. CFD thermal analysis at both cell and pack level recorded the thermal characteristics of the battery pack so that its cooling and weight efficiency could be optimized.

Williams Advanced Engineering began the battery project in May 2019 after being appointed battery supplier to ETCR. Two months later, cell and prototype module tests were underway and by September 2019 extensive CFD and FEA simulations were being carried out. Manufacture began in December, followed by physical testing to replicate a full race season.

All-electrical testing was completed at the Williams site in Grove, Oxfordshire, using one of the largest Kratzer and AV900 simulators in the UK. Every battery manufactured for the series will be put through end-of-line trials to verify its production build quality.

The Pure ETCR series is scheduled to make its public debut on July 9-12, 2020, with a time trial at the Goodwood Festival Of Speed, followed by a promotional round supporting the FIA WTCR at Salzburgring, Austria, on July 26-28.

The post Williams produces ETCR battery in seven months appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

The next-generation NASCAR Cup car – to be introduced for the 2021 season – will use wheels with single securing nuts, replacing the five-nut rims that have been part of the sport for many decades.

According to NASCAR officials the move to a single-nut rim has been made necessary by a planned change to 18-inch aluminium wheels from the current 15-inch steel items.

The single-nut wheels, which have been commissioned from German manufacturer BBS, were revealed in the latest test of the Next-Gen car at Auto Club Speedway, Fontana on 2^nd-3^rd March. NASCAR senior VP of innovation and racing development John Probst said that with the wheel rim size moving to 18in to more closely relate to current production cars, it was necessary to ensure the wheels were suited to a racing environment.

“Once you get to an 18-inch aluminium wheel, the next step for us is to make sure that… under racing conditions it will accept the durability that we need to finish races and then also finish multiple races – to do that, the single nut was our only option,” Probst said.

The plans have already caused controversy among many fans of America’s top motorsport category, but Probst argues that the major visual difference will only be in the appearance of the wheels, with little change to pit stop procedure.

“A lot of times when we say single lug nut, people fear that it (will be) an open-wheel style pit stop where people will be on their knees waiting for the car to come in. We don’t intend to change anything with respect to how the pit-stop flow is executed.

“There will still be guys coming off the wall – there will still be a premium for that athlete to come off the wall, get to the right side of the car, make that tire change, get over to the left side of the car and make the tire change. From the look and feel of the pit stop, we don’t see any significant changes.”

He added that there would be little gain to the time taken for stops as the new nuts would require more torque to be properly secured – ensuring the nut was completely tight would be vital. “The steel wheel is more forgiving and (drivers) can handle loose wheels a little bit better – we did some durability studies and if you leave lug nuts loose on an aluminium wheel, you reduce the durability of the wheel by around 30 per cent.”

Probst pointed out that switching to the single nut would improve efficiencies as the same nut would likely be retained for the entire race, whereas currently nuts are glued over the holes of wheels before they are fitted to the car in a pit stop – nuts removed are simply swept up after a stop.

“There are times when we have to open up the garage or pit road early on race day for no other reason than for the race teams to glue up 11 sets of tires – (with the new nut) they can just use the wheels as they are without being glued,” he said.

Prior to the fourth on-track test of what is being described as the ‘P3’ (third prototype) of the Next-Gen car, Probst indicated that the specification of the car was very close to being finalised.

“We feel like this car is probably 99 per cent what we’re going to compete with next year, and then some of the vendors that we’ve selected have been able to make parts available that will be identical to what we’re racing next year,” he said.

The post Next-gen NASCAR to use single-nut wheels appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

A reduction from three races to two in a weekend heads a raft of cost-cutting measures announced by the WTCR FIA World Touring Car Cup for 2020.

The series has acted following a significant rise in budgets caused by manufacturer support of teams in the series, despite the WTCR running to TCR regulations and not permitting entries by full factory teams.

These rising costs have been brought into focus by both Audi and Volkswagen announcing they were ending their WTCR involvement after the 2019 season. WTCR promoter Eurosport Events has now submitted a series of cost-cutting measures, which will need to be ratified by the FIA’s World Motorsport Council on March 6.

Assuming the new measures are approved, most WTCR race weekends in 2020 will be held over two days instead of three, featuring just one qualifying session instead of the current two. And the series will revert to the two races per weekend format of its predecessor the World Touring Car Championship, rather than three races as in 2019. Both races will be held on the same day.

The WTCR restricted team personnel numbers in 2019 and will reduce them further for 2020. Two-car teams will be permitted 12 personnel and three-car organizations 18, but only 10 per team will be issued with pitlane armbands, allowing them to work on the cars.

Tire allocations per car will fall from 22 for the first race and 18 thereafter to 18 and 12 respectively.

Head of Eurosport Events Francois Ribeiro described the changes made as “a must, not a nice to have,” and added that they have resulted from the desire to succeed on track causing budget rises that are becoming challenging to sustain, while moving WTCR away from the TCR category’s ethos as a customer racing activity.

“We have acted decisively and responsibly to protect WTCR, keep it strong for all the stakeholders, maintain its appeal among fans and media, and ensure it remains attractive and accessible for new privateer teams wanting to race at the highest possible level of TCR,” Ribeiro added.

“Unsustainable budgets and acknowledging the impact the coronavirus outbreak is having on the global economy has accelerated the introduction of a number of cost reduction measures and format changes developed together with the FIA and team representatives.”

The 2020 WTCR is scheduled to begin at the Hungaroring in Hungary on April 26.

The post Fewer races as WTCR acts to cut costs appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.