Gabriele Tarquini was among the guests who attended the launch of the TCR International Series event at Zhejiang Circuit and he spoke about his future commitment of driving the Hyundai i30 N TCR in the two final events of the TCR International Series.
Despite his long-standing experience he is incredibly excited: “It’s like to be father again! In fact, I consider the i30 N TCR like a child of my own that I have grown up until the moment is ready to leave home. I am proud of driving for Hyundai and grateful to them for the opportunity they gave me to follow the development of the i30 N TCR from the very beginning until its racing début;” the Italian driver said.
“I hope the car will be competitive straight away and I am confident because we have worked hard to develop it. In this respect, I am pleased that our maiden appearance will be on a track that is new for everybody, as this will help us to make up for the lack of experience in the championship. As a matter of fact, I am a ‘rookie’ in TCR!”
A rookie who is very well informed, anyway: “Of course! I have studied the category and I think that races are very enjoyable. With so many different cars that are equally competitive there is plenty of action. The level of the drivers is already very high and will grow even higher in the future.”
This is the first time Tarquini will be teaming with Alain Menu, after they have been rivals on the track for many years. “I think he has been a good pick. These two race meetings will mark the end of the course we have done to develop the racing car. They will provide the ultimate inputs before producing the cars for the customer teams. Just like me, Alain has a huge experience of working with manufacturers in developing touring cars. With the two of us working together, the team will benefit from a double source of information to do the final adjustments.”
