As Covid-19 continues, many of the sports games once suspended are being resumed. South Korea was the first to resume the baseball and soccer seasons and to stream live, making all the sports fans in the world excited.
Other sports leagues have begun their seasons, starting from Formula One Austria Grand Prix back on July 3rd to 5th, and so have other car races. Hyundai N festival, the country's biggest one-make race, was also held on July 11th at Inje Speedium for two days.
Hyundai N Festival 2019 opening ceremony - with hundreds of motorsports fans
Hyundai N Festival consists of one-make races, which are the races held for a single type of vehicle. It’s a motor festival for everyone as the minimum tuning cost and consumable costs according to the price and regulation of each production car are relatively lower than other motorsports.
129 amateur drivers participated in the Hyundai N Festival back in the last season
Hyundai N Festival, including Veloster N Cup (Masters/Challenge), and Avante Cup (Masters), is the biggest motor sports festival in Korea created to popularize motor sports. It holds the biggest one-make races, and is to promote the high-performance N brand. Hyundai Motor Company has been preparing for the new 2020 season, after it successfully finished the previous one.
What’s Changed in Hyundai N Festival 2020
Hyundai N Festival now includes the new program, called N Time Trial
In spite of the Covid-19 crisis, Hyundai N Festival 2020 finally resumed its new season at Inje Speedium on July 11th. This year, some of the programs have changed to draw more attention from the audience watching online.
Veloster N Cup 2020 comprises Masters and Challenge races. Photo: Veloster N Cup Masters 2019 race
Unlike the previous season, only the top 36 participants from qualifying races can join the second qualifying(Masters), and the top ten drivers compete at 'Super Lap' for the pole position. The ones who could not be the top 36 drivers in the first qualifying then compete in the Challenge qualifying. This way every driver can compete with the ones with similar skills.
Avante Cup is a single-class race, and simply the one who finished the qualifying fastest gets to take the pole position. And if there become more than 40 competitors in both Veloster N and Avante Cup, they divide the players into two teams - A and B, for better management.
For those who are not familiar with manual transmissions, Veloster N DCT is added to the choice list for the Time Trial class
There is a driving class weekend for amateur racing fans, called Veloster N Time Trial Class. The chosen 'valedictorian' is the one who got the most points among four trials, 20 minutes each. For those who are not familiar with manual transmissions, Veloster N DCT is added to the choice list. This would be a good opportunity for Hyundai as well, to promote their 8-speed wet dual-clutch transmission (N DCT).
Hyundai N Festival to Change in The Era of ‘Untact’
Around the race tracks are Covid-19 screening centers, and there are twice as many doctors as last year in the pit. Even drivers can be kicked out unless they wear face masks during the festival
The Covid-19 crisis has changed our lives in many ways, and Hyundai N Festival is no exception; the audience-less opening was to minimize close contact with others. Around the race tracks are Covid-19 screening centers, and there are twice as many doctors as last year in the pit. Even drivers can be kicked out unless they wear face masks during the festival.
Driver briefing - before the race, all drivers must complete a drivers' briefing with course staff - also took place online. Even the vehicle inspection was done through a contactless system.
Drones were used during Hyundai N Festival 2020 for more vivid observation
For the motorsports fans at their homes who would have yearned for the season to begin, every race was broadcast live just like the previous season. Bom-Yi Kwon and Wan-Tae Kim became the race caller for the season once again, for their utmost extent of knowledge and experience. The race was broadcast through Youtube, Kakao TV, Facebook, Naver, and Twitch, and even drones were used for more vivid observation.
2018 WTCR Driver Champion Gabriele Tarquini, 2019 WTCR Driver Champion Norbert Michelisz, and TCR Asian Driver Champion Luca Engstler from 2018 to 2019 will provide the commentary for the 2020 Hyundai N Festival
There is another reason why this opening race was special this year. The primary drivers of Hyundai Motorsports GmbH (HMSG) provided the commentary for Veloster N amateur racing.
For the overseas broadcasting, 2018 WTCR Driver Champion Gabriele Tarquini, 2019 WTCR Driver Champion Norbert Michelisz, and lastly, TCR Asian Driver Champion in 2018/2019 and future WTCR participant this season, Luca Engstler, will provide the commentary for the 2020 Hyundai N Festival. The fact that the world's best-skilled drivers broadcasting a Korean amateur touring car one-make race indicated not only the growing motorsport market in Korea but also increased attention from overseas fans.
Hyundai N Festival 2020 Opening Race
Drivers did their best in Hyundai N Festival 2020 opening race
42, 23, and 17 drivers participated in the Veloster N Cup, the Veloster N Time Trial (20 for MT / 3 for DCT), and the Avante Cup, respectively, for the opening race this year. There were a lot of newcomers, but their passion was not clumsy at all.
After the qualifying races and the other two in the Veloster N Time Trial, the Veloster N Cup Challenge Class has begun. The number of online viewers also increased as the final race continues. They cheered each of their beloved players through leaving comments.
#36 Chang-Soo Ha succeeded in last-lap-last-corner overtake, winning Avante Cup
After the fourth round at around 2:50 pm, it became clear that #229 Tae-Hui Kim won the Veloster N Time Trial opening race. She marked second in the Veloster N Masters Race last season.
Following was the Avante Cup final race, and there happened the most dramatic overtake to watch; while #14 Min-Chul Cho kept the first place for the whole thirteen laps, #36 Chang-Soo Ha succeeded in last-lap-last-corner overtake. Ha proved himself to be one of the most patient drivers.
Veloster N Masters final race - even through cameras audience could tell how sneaky the drivers can be
The last was the Veloster N Masters final race, the essence of the Hyundai N festival. The drivers who survived the qualifying race were all waiting for the green light. Everyone, even including the audience, was feeling butterflies in their stomach right before the race begins. It was a fierce match; no one could dare to anticipate how it will end until the very end. #6 Myeong-Gu Han became the winner of the Veloster N Masters opening race.
The next Hyundai N Festival 2020 double round race will take place at Yeongam Korea International Circuit(KIC)
Though Covid-19 kept the audience away from the circuit, 1,200 live viewers could enjoy thrilling moments through their monitors and cell phones. Bom-Yi Kwon and Wan-Tae Kim, two race callers since last year, gave a successful running commentary of the race in real-time. The next Hyundai N Festival 2020 double round race will take place on August 8th and 9th at Yeongam Korea International Circuit(KIC).
