For Immediate Release
Indianapolis, IN (February 25, 2020) – In line with the continued evolution of their North American motorsports program, Hyundai and Bryan Herta Autosport will host the inaugural Hyundai Drivers’ Camp this week in Indianapolis.
The field of Hyundai drivers in North America has seen a sharp increase for 2020. Twelve Veloster N TCR or TCA drivers representing the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, SRO Motorsports America and the Canadian Touring Car Championship will attend the camp. “We are very excited to see the Veloster N TCR race cars competing throughout North America,” said Paul Imhoff, director, Marketing Communications at Hyundai Motor America. “Seeing more Veloster N TCR race cars competing and winning is a huge step forward for Hyundai motorsports, our dealers and the N performance brand.”
The four-day camp is designed to provide the Hyundai drivers with the tools and training to maximize performance in the situations they will meet throughout their careers, key focus areas include intense physical evaluation and training programs, classroom presentations, data acquisition, engineering set-up and communication, media training and team-building activities. “Hyundai recognizes the need to offer top-level support to all their teams and drivers, and I am personally very proud of the program our team has put together for our driver athletes,” said Bryan Herta. “Drivers of any age or experience level will benefit from the tools and training that Hyundai is providing. They will have the opportunity to engage with sports and business professionals at the very top of their respective fields during this intensive program. Hyundai is bringing their ‘Better Drives Us’ innovative thinking to motorsports and the 2020 Hyundai Driver Camp is just the next example of how they continue to provide all their teams and drivers with the tools to be successful on and off the track.”
Each day the camp will begin with four hours of physical and cognitive training sessions at PitFit, the industry leader in the development of motorsports-specific human performance training. The driver performance evaluations will assess multiple aspects of physical and cognitive performance that contribute to on-track success. “We have a battery of testing and training for the drivers that is as diverse as it is challenging. Our goal for each driver in the camp is to determine where they are lacking and where they are strong. Based on this information we are able to educate them on their individual areas that need improvement” said Jim Leo, president of PitFit Training. While working with PitFit, the drivers will also maximize their performance margins, with exercises that target task management, attention management, situational awareness, and driver focus while maintaining an aggressive race pace in adverse or changing conditions using the RaceCraft 1 simulators.
Diversifying the curriculum with the objective of preparing the Hyundai drivers for the technical, commercial and public elements of racing outside the cockpit, drivers will spend afternoons at the Bryan Herta Autosport headquarters in Speedway, with a variety of guest speakers and detailed presentations, including RTV6 Sports Director Dave Furst, Hyundai Motor America representatives and BHA engineering and public relations staff.
Honoring the fabric of sports car racing – teamwork – the Hyundai drivers will be challenged with teambuilding activities in the evening. With the purpose of setting a common goal, drivers will be tasked with a timed escape-room exercise – requiring synergy in communication, speed, patience, and problem solving to meet the shared goal of solving the puzzle to escape the room. On Saturday night, they will be featured at the Indy Fuel hockey game. Once again focusing on team-building skills, the drivers will compete in a game of broomball during an intermission. The puck drops at 6:05 pm.
The Hyundai drivers’ camp begins Thursday, February 28th. Drivers attending are Olympian AJ Muss, Ben Waddell and Wyatt Schwab from Forty7 Motorsports, Tyler Maxson and Tyler Gonzalez from Copeland Motorsports, Connor Attrell from Hyundai Racing Canada and the Bryan Herta Autosport squad of Mark Wilkins, Harry Gottsacker, Ryan Norman, Gabby Chaves, Mason Filippi, and Michael Lewis. Follow the camp live on social media channels. Photos available upon request.
Media Contacts:
Katie Brannan
P.R. – Bryan Herta Autosport
Tel. 775.783.9033
kbrannan@bryanhertaautosport.com
Miles Johnson
Hyundai Motor America
Tel. 714.366.1048
milesjohnson@hmausa.com
Hyundai Motor America
Hyundai Motor America is focused on delivering an outstanding customer experience grounded in design leadership, engineering excellence and exceptional value in every vehicle we sell. Hyundai’s technology-rich product lineup of cars, SUVs and alternative-powered electric and fuel cell vehicles is backed by Hyundai Assurance—our promise to deliver peace of mind to our customers. Hyundai vehicles are sold and serviced through more than 830 dealerships nationwide with the majority sold in the U.S. built at U.S. manufacturing facilities, including Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. Hyundai Motor America is headquartered in Fountain Valley, California, and is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of Korea.
About Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian:
Founded in 2009, Bryan Herta Autosport has grown from a single-car Indy-Lights team into a championship-winning auto-racing franchise. Led by IndyCar and Sports Car star Bryan Herta, Bryan Herta Autosport has won races in every discipline they’ve entered, including Indy Lights, Indy Car, Global Rally Cross, and Pirelli World Challenge. BHA rose to prominence after winning the 2011 Indianapolis 500 in what was the final race of the Centennial Era, a celebration of 100 years of racing at The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with driver Dan Wheldon. Five years later, BHA partnered with Andretti Autosport, and defied the odds again, winning their second Indianapolis 500 with rookie driver Alexander Rossi. BHA entered the Global Rally Cross Championship in 2015 under the name Bryan Herta Rallysport, scoring multiple podiums and wins. In 2018, BHA entered the Pirelli World Challenge in partnership with Hyundai and dominated the TCR class, winning seven races with drivers #98 Michael Lewis and #99 Mark Wilkins in the Hyundai i30N TCR, securing the team and manufacturers championships in the process. In 2019, BHA moved to the IMSA Michelin Sports Car Challenge, adding pitstops and endurance racing to the mix. The transition was flawless, BHA swept the series driver and team championships with driver Mark Wilkins and Michael Lewis finishing first in the #98 Hyundai Veloster N TCR and young guns Harry Gottsacker and Mason Filippi finishing second in the #21 Hyundai Veloster N TCR. For 2020, BHA continues its successful partnership with Andretti Autosport fielding the #98 U.S. Concrete Honda w/ Curb Agajanian in the IndyCar series for driver Marco Andretti. They will return as champions to the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series with an expanded program, adding a third car, the #33 Hyundai Veloster N TCR for open wheel veterans Gabby Chaves and Ryan Norman. Bryan Herta Autosport is the U.S. sales agent and parts support representative of Hyundai TCR race cars for customer teams. For more information, visit www.BryanHertaAutosport.com.