Learning the track day ropes at the 2022 Hyundai N Festival

Australia ranks among the top markets in the world for the sales of performance cars, yet the list of car brands offering ways to engage with owners after they drive out of the showroom is shorter than you might expect.

Manufacturer-run performance-car owners’ programs are not unheard of at the ‘affordable’ end of the market – hot hatchbacks and small sports cars – but they usually don’t extend beyond brand merchandise, newsletters, and occasional discounts on event tickets.

Owners keen to explore their car’s speed off the street – in a safe, legal environment – are largely left to fend for themselves, to find, prepare for and spend a fair amount on their own weekend track day.

Track events backed by car manufacturers do exist, but they’re usually the preserve of high-end brands like BMW or Porsche, and require punters to shell out a fair chunk of change to attend.

But the exception is Hyundai and its annual N Festival: a manufacturer-subsidised event allowing N-car owners to push their cars to the limit in a safe and open environment – for about a fraction of the price of a normal track day.

The 2022 N Festival is the fourth running of the event, and the largest yet, hosted at The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia, which claims to be the second-longest permanent racetrack in the world in its full GT configuration, behind Germany’s Nürburgring Nordschleife.

Events in previous years have taken place at Victoria’s Winton Raceway (2021), Queensland Raceway (2020), and NSW’s Wakefield Park (2019).

The $50 entry fee (excluding a track licence, which costs from $35) includes 75 minutes of total track time, plus access to an on-road driving event the day prior, technical deep-dives into N cars, a trivia night, show-and-shine contest, and more.

Hyundai racing drivers spend much of the weekend taking customers and guests as passengers around the track – in road N models or TCR race cars – and there are test-drive areas and ‘motorkhana’ courses to keep attendees busy between track sessions.

Hyundai Australia estimates the majority of attendees signed up to drive were new to track days.

This year, that includes this writer. I’ve had some experience on a racetrack prior to the event, but the N Festival represented my first taste of a weekend track day format.

And as far as first track days go, the N Festival is about as approachable as they come.

The Trackschool team – known for hosting a range of other track day events around the country, led by driver/instructor John Boston – that helps run the event with Hyundai was available to provide one-on-one tuition for N owners new to racetrack driving.

The 200 attendees registered to drive on the track were split up into groups based on their prior track experience – allowing owners to drive within their abilities – and were given five 15-minute sessions spread across the day to get comfortable and explore the limits of their car.

With a driver’s briefing on Sunday morning (the main track day), I didn’t see any black flags for bad behaviour waved in the sessions I drove in, and any overtaking conducted on track was, for the most part, clean.

Sessions ran in parallel on the West and East Circuits throughout the day – the West more open with a long main straight, well suited to the i30 N and Kona N’s more powerful engines, and the East tighter and a better fit for the smaller i20 N.

The layouts combined on Sunday afternoon – after Saturday was spent by N owners on a convoy drive across some of South Australia’s best roads – for participants to experience the full 7.7km-long GT Circuit.

My weekend began with a few instructed laps of the circuit with Hyundai rally ace Brendan Reeves – before joining the dozen or so motoring media in attendance, sharing the track with N owners while cycling through a fleet of Hyundai N road cars, and four laps per journalist in the one-of-two RN22e electric concept car (click here to read our driving impressions).

Between track sessions, all attendees – drivers, their passengers, and other spectators – could explore everything from ‘Tech Talks’ with Hyundai Australia on the RN22e, TCR racers and N road cars, to tours of The Bend facilities, merchandise stands, and food.

A motorkhana course was set up to experience the cars in a different environment, with 400-plus runs completed across the weekend, plus an area for test drives of new N road cars, and to keep kids entertained, a pedal-powered go-kart course.

In attendance this year were two special guests: former N boss and current Hyundai technical advisor Albert Biermann – the brains behind the N division, and previously the head of BMW’s M – plus current Hyundai N brand vice president Till Wartenberg.

Attendees were given the opportunity to meet and take photos with the executives, with many driving away on Sunday night with Biermann or Wartenberg’s signature on their car’s engine cover, licence plate or dashboard.

A dinner with trivia was held for a full room of avid N fans and owners on Saturday night, all quizzed on their Hyundai N road, racing and The Bend circuit knowledge by Biermann, Wartenberg, Hyundai TCR racer Josh Buchan, and rally driver Brendan Reeves.

The group of motoring media in attendance spent the main track day, Sunday, sampling all four N road cars back-to-back on-track.

As the newest car in the range – on the newest chassis – the i30 Sedan N felt the quickest on the West Circuit. It matches the Kona N and i30 N hatch on power, but it felt the most stable (with the longest wheelbase), and was shod in excellent Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber (vs Pirellis on the other cars).

The capabilities of the Kona N came as a surprise. Intentionally driven back-to-back with its i30 N hatch twin-under-the-skin, it’s impressive how little difference there was between the two at full tilt.

Yes, it’s not as confidence-inspiring – nor ultimately as quick when the stopwatch stops – due to its higher driving position, centre of gravity and increased body roll, but the concept of a track-capable small SUV is fantastic fun, and it’s far more capable than you’d expect it to be.

But the real surprise of the day was left for last: the pint-sized i20 N. In prior testing on the road we’ve found the car can be firm over potholed urban streets, the engine has rev hang, and there is moderate tyre roar on the freeway.

But on a racetrack it’s a different beast. Despite a 50kW-plus power deficit, narrower tyres and smaller brakes, the lighter and more compact i20 N felt no slower through corners than the i30 Ns and Kona Ns it shared the circuit with – nor significantly slower in a straight line.

It was the most agile and keen to rotate through corners, and it enjoyed being driven hard, with excellent tyre grip, strong braking performance, and a great mechanical limited-slip front differential managing traction.

The transmissions in all four cars were also highlights.

The electronic rev-matching system in the i20 N was almost seamless, and means drivers new to manual transmissions and/or track days can push the car to its limits without trying to nail (or learn how to complete) precise heel-toe downshifts.

Meanwhile, the eight-speed dual-clutch automatic in the other three cars is so good in N mode you can just leave it to its own devices, and almost always be in the right gear. Rarely did I need to step in and make a manual gear change.

Despite being driven hard on-track all day by a group of less-than-forgiving motoring writers, the eight Hyundai N cars available to media held up well (though they were under the eye of Hyundai technicians checking tyre pressures, brakes, and topping up fuel).

All cars were in standard specification, right off the showroom floor, bar a set of N Performance accessory brake pads on some of the cars.

Alongside plenty of track time behind the wheel of road cars, we hitched a ride in the passenger seat of Bailey Sweeny’s touring (TCR) car, plus some further passenger laps with Brendan Reeves in an i30 N hatch road car around the full GT circuit.

Our biggest takeaway from the whole weekend was how approachable and attainable the N Festival is.

Owners can explore the limits of their car on one of Australia’s best circuits, surrounded by hundreds of like-minded enthusiasts, similar cars and knowledgeable experts, for a fair amount less than a normal track day event thanks to that manufacturer backing.

And they don’t need a Porsche or BMW to attend – nor have to void their warranty in the process.

But more than anything, for many – provided you own a Hyundai N car – it’s an accessible entry into the world of track days. The more people that can feel comfortable, and interested in, driving their car hard on a racetrack rather than a public road, the better.

Attendees can walk away after a fun weekend of driving and all things motoring, and Hyundai Australia can claim to have built an army of loyal followers and de-facto brand ambassadors that can help it sell cars. It’s a win-win.

Hyundai says more than 400 people attended the N Festival, with 200 registered to drive their cars on-track (plus 90 registered passengers) – a record turnout.

Plans are already underway for next year’s N Festival, expected to return to NSW with a first-time visit to Sydney Motorsport Park.

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