Gene Rollinson was in action at Highlands Motorsport Park today, racking up mileage in the Racer Products Hyundai i30N TCR ahead of next week’s TCR New Zealand championship.
The New Zealand TCR championship will run with a Balance of Performance system, BOP, designed to give every car manufacture an equal chance of victory.
Under the current BOP regulations Rollinson Hyundai had more than 100kgs of ballast on board during the test, with the engine limited to 95 per cent power.
It’s Rollinson’s first times driving the Hyundai with added ballast, which he says makes for a new experience.
“The car requires a whole new mindset to drive,” Rollinson said. “It was totally different to what I have been used to.
“But the car still exceeded my initial expectations and I am looking forward to the winner-takes-all championship, even though on paper the Hyundai performance has been hurt the most of any other competing TCR makes.”
Last month, Hyundai had a challenging round at the Bathurst 6 Hour in the Australian TCR championship.
The cars ran with only 97 per cent engine power, with rival manufacturers able to turn their engines up to 102 per cent in terms of performance. These parity measures are applied from the worldwide TCR regulations.
Still, Rollinson remains one of New Zealand’s most accomplished drivers and has steered the Racer Products machine in the national endurance championship with considerable success, capturing pole for the class at the NZ Endurance Championship at Highlands Motorsport Park last November.
Currently, three Hyundais are confirmed to partake in the NZ TCR championship. Jaden Ransley will steer the car he drove in the 2020 South Island endurance series, while Hayden Paddon will race his own car.
The TCR New Zealand championship will be held at Highlands on April 23-24.