Hyundai to provide safety cars at WorldSBK superbike championships

By Park Sae-jin Posted : September 12, 2018, 11:37 Updated : September 12, 2018, 11:37

[Courtesy of Hyundai Motor]


SEOUL -- Safety cars bearing the logo of Hyundai Motor's high-performance compact sedan "i30 Fastback N" will guide professional motorbike racers at the world's biggest superbike racing event.

Hyundai said in a statement on Tuesday that under the partnership with the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK), the carmaker will provide its i30 Fastback N as the official safety car at WorldSBK races for the coming three seasons starting next year.

WorldSBK is a motorsport road racing series for modified production motorbikes. Hyundai will showcase its new i30 Fastback N compact sedan in October at a motor show in Paris.

"We are very excited to announce our partnership with WorldSBK because we share the same DNA. All N cars are corner rascals, and the essence of motorcycle racing is cornering," Thomas Schemera, who heads Hyundai's high-performance vehicle and motorsport division, was quoted as saying.

Hyundai launched its N brand in 2015 to compete with other high-performance cars such as BMW's M, Mercedes Benz's AMG and Volkswagen's R. The i30 N, a hatchback fitted with a 2.0-liter turbo GDI engine, was released last year in the global market, excluding South Korea and the United States. Veloster N, a 250-horsepower hatchback, was released at home in July 2018.

Hyundai's N brand cars have received attention from car manias for reasonable prices, showing great performances in speed, cornering and reliability. Designs are not too fancy to make them ideal for everyday use. The company will promote its N brand by providing racetrack visitors with on-track test drive sessions.
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