The WRC season kicked off in a big way for Hyundai – The problems with the Rally1 car should be fixed, which is why they are aiming for the podium in Sweden
Hyundai struggled with the durability of its hybrid i20 at the World Rally Championship (WRC) opener. Ott Tänak and Oliver Solberg dropped out, Thierry Neuville only finished sixth. The team has been working hard on improvements to the car, which is why the Koreans are targeting the podium at Rally Sweden.
The difficulties with the Hyundai i20 were many-sided: Tänak dropped out after hitting a stone. The Estonian took to the track with slicks, although there was snow. Solberg had to retire on the last day of the season opener because petrol gases got into the cockpit and he felt unwell. Neuville finished but was powerless due to suspension damage and handling problems.
Hyundai vice team principal Julien Moncet says Hyundai must “redouble its efforts” to close the gap on Toyota and M-Sport with Ford. He says the team has been working day and night to work through the “long list” of problems and find solutions. Moncet is confident that the team has fixed many teething problems on the Hyundai i20.
Durability in focus
“We have mainly focused on the problematic durability,” he says. “That will certainly help us to take a step forward at Rally Sweden.” A test in Finland is said to have helped: “We focused on the set-up there and had hardly any problems with durability.”
Although there was a lot of time between the opening round in Monte Carlo and the second round in Sweden, Hyundai was not able to improve all areas. The reason for this is that some parts on the car are frozen because of homologation and therefore cannot be changed. Also, it takes more time to find solutions in some areas.
The team did not rest between the first two races of the season. According to Moncet, the only rest day was the return trip from Monte Carlo back to the base in Alzenau. Just one day later, the team started to go full throttle. “There were a lot of meetings to talk about the problems on the car,” he explains.
Long list completed
Every little detail has been put to the test – also in the areas of organisation and communication. Moncet admits that the list was “quite long”. That’s why, he says, there was a periodisation of the problems before Rally Sweden, in order to solve the most important issues first. “There are no dramatic changes, it is actually the same car,” Moncet said. “There has been work on the small problems.”
Hyundai is hungry for victory, but also realistic, which is why the brand is first targeting the podium at Rally Sweden and wants all three cars to finish. “It’s doable,” says Moncet. “The car seems to work well in this set-up window.” Gases are also expected to stay out of the cockpit after the tune-up – good news for Solberg.
