Hyundai Australia will contest the Targa Tasmania tarmac rally in the brand’s first official foray into elite-level Australian motorsport.
Hyundai driver Brendan Reeves will expertly steer a rally-prepped i30N hatchback through the picturesque hills of the Apple Isle this week, from April 29 to May 4.
Reeves, whose World Rally Championship skills will prove a potent mix for the factory team’s maiden outing, will be paired with navigator and professional rally co-driving sister Rhianon Gelsomino.
Reeves and Gelsomino in the i30N will compete in the outright GT2 class at Targa, which he says will put them right among the fastest in the competition.
“We’ll definitely be batting above our weight,” he says.
“We’re aiming for a top 10 result, and if we can get into the top five by the end of the week-long event that would be awesome,” Reeves says.
“You’re racing against supercars, so it’s always a challenge, but if we can stay in there for the long haul and get to the finish, we should get a really good result,” he adds.
Reeves says the plan is to take advantage of the standard suspension setup on the i30N which is already honed for track work.
“It’s part of the plan to use the standard suspension so when it’s wet we can soften the car with the N custom mode, or when it’s dry we can stiffen the suspension up, just by touching a button,” he explains.
“Driver-adjustable suspension will help us to adapt the car to the changeable weather conditions, which are one of the big challenges of Targa,” Reeves concedes.
“We’ve been testing different setups and tyre compounds with the aim of tackling Targa this year,” he continues.
“The whole time we’ve been competing in the Tarmac Rally Sprint Series all we’ve been thinking about is Targa, and how we can best develop the car,” Reeves says.
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