The WRC season got underway a week ago at Rally Monte Carlo, which turned into a showcase for Toyota as it secured a one-two-three finish. Hyundai was left with plenty to think about after the season opener, even though the event was contested in extremely challenging conditions.
After Monte Carlo, Hyundai WRC stars Adrien Fourmaux and Thierry Neuville said they have higher expectations heading into Rally Sweden, which will be contested in two weeks’ time.
Hyundai is now fine-tuning its Rally1 machinery in the Rovaniemi area. French driver Fourmaux kicked off the team’s test session on Friday in proper winter conditions, with temperatures plunging as low as –31 degrees Celsius.
Fourmaux admitted that the extreme cold reached all the way to his toes.
“Today we have tests in Rovaniemi, in the land of Santa Claus. It’s –31 degrees today. I can tell you that it really puts the team to the test to work in these conditions. So thank you to them for all the work they do,” Fourmaux said in an Instagram story.
“I must admit my feet are a little cold in my driving shoes. But in any case, it’s certain that we have rather wintery conditions. We’re having a great time, feeling really confident with the car, so it’s quite positive,” he added.
Hyundai previously operated its own test base in central Finland near Jämsä, but for this season the team has moved its main testing hub to southern France. However, the new facility cannot be utilised when preparing for a full-blown winter rally.
As a result, Hyundai is forced to use valuable test days during its Rovaniemi session. This raises the question of why the team is not taking part in this weekend’s Arctic Lapland Rally in the Rovaniemi region and using it as a test event instead.
Testing in a national rally does not count against the limited number of WRC test days. Toyota has returned to the Arctic Lapland Rally year after year, and this time Elfyn Evans is competing to fine-tune Toyota’s Rally1 car north of the Arctic Circle.
Among Hyundai’s drivers, Esapekka Lappi is contesting the Finnish championship rally in a Škoda Rally2 car. Lappi will complete his Hyundai test day after the Arctic Lapland Rally.
After Friday’s six special stages, Evans leads the overall classification of the Arctic Lapland Rally, while Lappi holds the lead in the SM1 category.
