Hyundai i20 WRC World Rally Championship Contender

Hyundai is not a brand that’s synonymous with motor racing like Ford, Chevrolet, Mercedesand Renault but they have competed in the FIA World Rally Championship, beginning in the F2 class for a number of years before moving up to the top level with the Hyundai Accent WRC with Scotsman Alister McRae behind the wheel. Later, four-time world champion Juha Kankkunen took over driving duties and fourth place in the manufacturer’s championship was secured.

Budget constraints caused Hyundai to leave the World Championship in 2003, but now the Korean firm has announced its return to the WRC with a new Hyundai i20 WRC. The plan is for the i20 based rally car to make its competitive debut at the 2014 Rallye Monte Carlo but in order to develop the car the manufacturer may run it during selected events this year. At the moment the new car is undergoing testing and has covered 550km during an intensive three day schedule.

Part of the team’s evaluation work is being carried out to determine if the i20 WRC’s 1.6 litre turbocharged engine is ready for the demands of the WRC, but the majority of the testing schedule will evaluate the car’s performance under different conditions as the firm’s team principle, Michel Nandan, explains, “We have an intensive testing schedule for the rest of 2013 which will take us to different venues across Europe, to evaluate the i20 WRC in different conditions and on different terrains which reflect the variety of circumstances we will encounter in the World Rally Championship next year.”