Last year, Hyundai was left well behind Toyota, as the Japanese manufacturer managed to win an impressive 12 of the 14 WRC rounds and secured the manufacturers’ title in dominant fashion. Toyota also recorded a historic one-two-three finish in the drivers’ championship.
However, Hyundai’s WRC team has been working hard during the winter break and has also made use of homologation jokers to improve its i20 N Rally1 car. The team already tested at Rally Dévoluy in early December, when Adrien Fourmaux worked on set-up changes for his car. In December, Hyundai also visited its Central Finland test base for the final time, as the team’s test area for this season has been designated in France.
The opening tests in the Alps were, however, partly spoiled, as heavy snowfall made testing extremely challenging.
“The volume of pre-event testing we have undertaken is significant, and all the team did an incredible job at being able to identify where the most difficult conditions are going to be. We worked hard to get ourselves to test in the areas those conditions would be, a lot of test roads booked, and as a result the team had the opportunity to select the best roads,” Hyundai sporting director Andrew Wheatley commented.
“But the weather had its own plans and that’s incredibly challenging for the team. They’ve done a fantastic job at being able to manage that over the last two-week window – that’s the key at the moments.”
According to Wheatley, the test programme ultimately turned out positive. Among the team’s drivers, Thierry Neuville had to reschedule his test day, but in the end the entire three-driver line-up was able to complete its own test ahead of this week’s Rally Monte Carlo.
“I think it’s going to be a challenging rally this year; the conditions are going to be difficult, potentially more testing than the last couple of years, and that puts an extra pressure on everybody. We’ve tried to ensure that we have made the best preparations for every possible condition in order to get the best performance out of the team,” Wheatley states.
“Following a successful test, we want to push to the limit and ensure that we are as competitive as we have been in the past. The team has been competitive, the car has been competitive and the drivers have been competitive, so there’s no reason why we can’t be in that position again this year.”
Wheatley emphasises that, as always, the variable conditions in Monte Carlo will put the driver pairings to the test.
“The big challenge in Monte Carlo is going to be the variation between the fast-dry sections and the tricky, icy and snowy sections. Quite often those conditions come in the same stage, and that puts extra pressure on the drivers in terms of tyre selection – this is where it can get complicated,” Wheatley sums up.
“The opportunity to get it right is equal to the opportunity to get it wrong, and we’ve tried to make sure that we’ve put ourselves in the best possible place to make those right decisions.”
