Hyundai Motor wraps up 2026 N Festival season, pledges to expand motorsport access

Hyundai Motor said Monday it wrapped up the 2026 season of the Hyundai N Festival after the sixth and final round concluded Sunday at Everland Speedway in Yongin.

The Hyundai N Festival succeeds the Click Speed Festival, held from 2003 to 2010, and the Korea Speed Festival, held from 2011 to 2018. It is Korea's largest one-make racing series, a format in which all drivers compete in identical vehicles so that results are determined purely by driving skill.

This year's season opened with Round 1 at Everland Speedway in Yongin from May 8 to 10, followed by Round 2 at Korea International Circuit in Yeongam from June 19 to 21, and Round 3 at Inje Speedium from July 10 to 12. Round 4 was held at Inje Speedium from Oct. 2 to 4, and Rounds 5 and 6 took place at Everland Speedway in Yongin from Friday through Sunday.

The series features four classes. The top-tier Gran Turismo eN1 Class uses the Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup Car and serves as a proving ground for high-performance electric vehicle technology. The Kumho N1 Class and Nexen N2 Class compete in the Avante N1 and Avante N2 Cup Cars, respectively. A newly added Nexen N3 Class, also using the Avante N2 Cup Car, was introduced this year to give entry-level drivers a safe pathway into competitive racing.

With many of Korea's top drivers taking part, Kim Young-chan and team DCT Racing claimed the Gran Turismo eN1 Class championship, with Kumho Tire taking the tire manufacturer title in the same class. Kwon Hyeok-jin and DCT Racing won the Kumho N1 Class, while Lee Sol-gi took the Nexen N2 Class title.

Hyundai Motor President and CEO Jose Munoz and Executive Vice President Lee Young-ho, head of the Global Business Management Division, attended the final round in person and took part in the Kumho N1 Class awards ceremony.

"The Hyundai N Festival is Hyundai Motor's flagship motorsport event, built together with drivers and fans over more than 20 years, and an important platform where customers can directly experience high-performance technology and the excitement of motorsport," Munoz said. "Going forward, we will continue to actively incorporate the technology and experience gained from motorsport into vehicle development, while expanding opportunities for customers to experience motorsport and connect with Hyundai Motor."

Cumulative attendance for the season exceeded 70,000. Round 3 marked the N Festival debut of two new formats: a night race, run on a darkened track, and an endurance race in which two or three drivers take turns at the wheel over three hours, testing both durability and strategy.

Hyundai Motor also ran a range of fan experience programs at each event. These included Grid Walk, which gave spectators trackside access to all competing cars and drivers; N Mini Car, a toy-car racing competition for younger visitors; and N Taxi, which let fans ride along with a professional driver for a hot lap of the circuit.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor earlier last month reinforced its motorsport credentials by winning the Korean round of the 2026 TCR World Tour for the second consecutive year.