Hyundai Motorsport Looks to Maintain Podium Pace with Four-car Entry in Poland
- Hyundai Motorsport will compete in a WRC with four cars for the first time - as the #10 Hyundai i20 WRC makes its debut with Dutchman Kevin Abbring
- The team is keeping its feet on the ground after a double podium in Sardinia with Hayden Paddon and Thierry Neuville finishing second and third
- A competitive performance in Poland in 2014led to a podium finish, a resultthat the team hopes to repeat in this year’s re-profiled Rally Poland.
June 26, 2015 - Fresh from a double podium result at the last rally in Sardinia, Hyundai Motorsport hopes to continue its podium pace at next weekend’s Rally Poland as it fields four Hyundai i20 WRC cars for the first time.
The Alzenau-based squad secured a Polish podium with Thierry Neuville winning third placelast year.With all new stages and the addition of the fourth car, driven by Dutchman Kevin Abbring, the team will face new challenges at this seventh round of the 2015 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).
Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo will continue to fly the flag for the Hyundai Shell World Rally Team in Poland, driving the #7 and #8 cars respectively. Star of Rally Italia Sardegna, Hayden Paddon will once again spearhead the entry for Hyundai Mobis Rally Team in the #20 car but will be joined by Abbring for the first of four events in the #10 Hyundai i20 WRC.
Rally Poland will have a different look for this year’s event with all 19 stages held on Polish ground. The Mikolajki Arena stage will be run three times and is the only stage that is the same as those contested twelve months ago. The high-speed characteristics of the rally will remain, with sand covered gravel, tall roadside grass and hidden rocks all posing challenges to the drivers. Tyre selection will once again be a key factor in performance with soft compounds expected to be the primary choice.
Hyundai Motorsport carried out a test last month with Neuville, Sordo and Paddonin order to best prepare for therigours of this rally. The #7 and #8 cars will also have a new camshaft for Poland, which the team expects to deliver another step in terms of overall performance.
Team Principal Michel Nandan said: “Rally Poland will be another important milestone for Hyundai Motorsport as we enter four cars into a WRC event for the first time. It will be a new challenge for our team as we tackle an already tricky rally with an extra car, but it’s something to which we are looking forward. We had a fantastic result in Sardinia with two cars on the podium after great performances from all drivers over the weekend, and especially from Hayden. We are pleased to welcome Kevin into the team for a four-rally programme starting from Poland, where we took a JWRC victory some years ago. Our drivers generally perform well on unknown terrain so the fact that around 90% of Rally Poland is new compared to last year will hopefully play into our hands. It would be great to repeat the podium from last year and continue our performance from Sardinia.”
Third place in Sardinia will provide a timely boost for Neuville (#7 Hyundai i20 WRC) as he looks to repeat the performance shown in last year’s Rally Poland.
Neuville said: “We have good memories from last year’s Rally Poland where we finished on the podium in third place and took some fastest stage times as well. I really enjoy the fast, flowing nature of the Polish stages. We were surprised to take a podium in Sardinia after the weekend we had but it was a great result for the team overall and I hope we can build on that in Poland.”
Sordo (#8 Hyundai i20 WRC) only competed in the recce of last year’s Rally Poland but the new composition of the Polish stages will hopefully help minimise any disadvantage to his rivals.
Sordo said: “I only took part in the recce for last year’s Rally Poland so this will be my first time driving the Hyundai i20 WRC in the actual event. It’s difficult to know what to expect because a lot of the stages will also be new, but we will have fast roads, similar to Finland but with gravel and narrower. The team was strong in Poland last year and we had a positive Sardinia rally so I hope we can continue in the same way next week. It should be a fun rally.”
Paddon (#20 Hyundai i20 WRC) was among the standout performers in Sardinia, as he led much of the rally and took his maiden WRC podium. He is keeping his feet on the ground for Poland.
Paddon said: “Sardinia was a great result but we won’t get carried away. We have to take each rally as it comes and keep focused on the job in hand. Poland is quite nice, similar in places to Finland - fast, flowing and with a lot of crests. It is softer and sandier, though, so can become quite rutted on the second pass. The stages are nice and suit my driving style so I’m looking forward to getting back out there and seeing what we can do.”
Dutchman Abbring (#10 Hyundai i20 WRC) made his first appearance for Hyundai Motorsport in Rally Sweden but Poland will mark the first of four programmed rallies for the promising youngster.
Abbring said: “Although I took part in Sweden, those were special circumstances and Poland will be the first of my four-rally programme this season. I took a JWRC win there in 2009; it’s a very fast, sandy rally with narrow bits in the forest. The fast roads over crests are really nice. It’s my first gravel event in a WRC car and I’m still getting used to the car so it will be important to get the pace notes right and to build up a rhythm. It’ll be good to see four cars lined up in our service park and I hope to show everyone what I’m capable of.”
The rally will once again be based in Mikolajki, which will host the service park and the Super Special Stage on Thursday. Friday will see over 150km of action - almost half of the entire SS distance for the rally - with Poland’s longest ever stage, 39.12km Stanczyki. There will be no midday service adding a layer of complexity to proceedings on the first opening day. Saturday’s stages run closer to the service park but will be no less unforgiving. The 14.6km Baranowo stage brings the event to a close on Sunday morning, with the stage run twice - once as the Power Stage.
Hyundai Motorsport Crews’ Info
Hyundai i20 WRC #7Hyundai Shell WRT
Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul
DOB / 16 June 1988 / 5 February 1982
First WRC event / 2009, Rally Catalunya / 2007, Rallye Monte-Carlo
WRC starts / 52 / 47
WRC podiums / 12 / 12
WRC wins / 1 / 1
Rally Poland starts / 1 / 2
Rally Poland previous results / 2014: 3rd / 2004: 5th (ERC), 2014: 3rd
Hyundai i20 WRC #8
Hyundai Shell WRT
Dani Sordo / Marc Martí
DOB / 2 May 1983 / 1 October 1966
First WRC event / 2003, RallyeCatalunya / 1992, RallyeCatalunya
WRC starts / 121 / 156
WRC podiums / 37 / 43
WRC wins / 1 / 3
Rally Poland starts / 1 / 1
Rally Poland previous results / 2009: 2nd / 2009: 2nd
Hyundai i20 WRC #20
Hyundai Mobis WRT
Hayden Paddon / John Kennard
DOB / 20 April 1987 / 11 February 1959
First WRC event / 2007, Rally New Zealand / 1985, Rally Finland
WRC starts / 40 / 48
WRC podiums / 1 / 2
WRC wins / - / -
Rally Poland starts / 1 / 2
Rally Poland previous results / 2014: 8th / 1994: 15th (ERC) 2014: 8th
Hyundai i20 WRC #10
Hyundai Mobis WRT
Kevin Abbring / Sebastian Marshall
DOB / 20 January 1989 / 29 May 1988
First WRC event / 2007, Rallye Deutschland / 2008,Rallye Deutschland
WRC starts / 25 / 23
WRC podiums / - / -
WRC wins / - / -
Rally Poland starts / 1 / 2
Rally Poland previous results / 2009: 11th (1st JWRC) / 2013: 23rd (6th 2WD – ERC), 2014: 74th (8th JWRC)
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About Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Established on 19 December 2012, Hyundai Motorsport GmbH is responsible for Hyundai’s global motorsport activities and primarily for its World Rally Championship programme. Based in Alzenau on the outskirts of Frankfurt in Germany, the company embarked on its debut season in the FIA World Rally Championship in 2014 with a bespoke team of skilled staff and a brand new car, the Hyundai i20 WRC. The team made a strong impression in its first year claiming podium results in Mexico and Poland, as well as a memorable 1-2 in Germany with Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo. 2015 is Hyundai Motorsport’s second season in WRC and the team aims to build on the firm foundations laid in its maiden year of competition.
Further information about Hyundai Motorsport is available at:
About Hyundai Motor Company
Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Company is committed to becoming a lifetime partner in automobiles and beyond. The company, which leads the Hyundai Motor Group, an innovative business structure capable of circulating resources from molten iron to finished cars, offers top-quality best-sellers such as Elantra, Sonata and Genesis. Hyundai Motor has eight manufacturing bases and seven design & technical centers worldwide and in 2014, sold 4.96 million vehicles globally. With almost 100,000 employees worldwide, Hyundai Motor continues to enhance its product line-up with localized models and strives to strengthen its leadership in clean technology, starting with the world’s first mass-produced hydrogen-powered vehicle, ix35 Fuel Cell.
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