TCR World and life

You had a stunning debut in TC America with a double victory at COTA. Considering that you are the youngest competitor by far in the championship, did you expect those results? “My goal in every race is to win. Until you get out there, you really never know where you stack up, but I felt really good based on our pace in testing and practice. I was excited to show what the Copeland Motorsports team and myself put together in the off season and the strength of the Hyundai Veloster N TCR car. And, in spite of my age, I have quite a bit of experience. I started in karting when I was six years old and raced in various national and international championships until I was 14. I was also part of a factory program in Europe and I knew I wanted to transition to cars, but my age posed some challenges. There weren’t a lot of options for a 14-year-old in professional racing. In order to get my license I participated in a racing school and several amateur races.” You won the TCA America title in 2019, how did you feel about stepping up to TCR? “I was very thankful to SRO Motorsports Group that gave me an opportunity to compete in the 2019 TCA championship where I was successful in claiming both the series title and Rookie of the Year honours. Being the youngest competitor in the series and winning the title against some seasoned drivers last year gave me the confidence to level up. The Hyundai Veloster N TCR carries more speed and produces more downforce than what I was driving in TCA. Honestly, the transition felt pretty seamless and there wasn’t much I changed in preparation from last season to this year. Racing the Veloster N TCR is a lot of fun. Hyundai has built an amazing car. At our first pre-season test at Road Atlanta, I showed great pace and felt very comfortable in the car. Because of that, we were able to spend our time fine-tuning it rather than working on getting me up to speed. The team and I spent most of our time trying different set ups and doing mock races and I think that was a huge advantage heading into the first event of the season.” How do you keep yourself busy during the COVID-19 lockdown and what are your expectations once the season resumes? “I’m currently attending 9th grade high school online. I’ve been staying close to home and hanging out with my family during this time. I’ve also been keeping myself busy with a lot of SIM racing. I spend a lot of time working on my home simulator to keep my skills sharp. I also assist with several iRacing live streams to stay involved in racing as much as I can. What is going on in the world is sad and I try and, stay away from the news. I just keep hoping that my friends, family, teammates and competitors stay safe and I look forward to the next green flag of 2020. I expect a shortened, more compact schedule with more races per weekend. It will be very busy and because of that, it’s going to be more important to finish every race. I have high hopes for the rest of the season. At COTA in rounds 1 and 2, I think we showed we have what it takes to run up front so I am expecting more of the same for the rest of the season. My intentions are to make racing a full-time career. I hope to move up the racing ladder and see where the road takes me. I don't have a specific goal in mind, but I do know that racing is my life and that is what I want to do. I think it’s important to keep an open mind. As long as I’m racing I know I’ll be doing what I love.” Three questions to… TylerMaxson