There’s just over 100 days until the start of the 2014 WRC season and Hyundai’s preparation of its i20 is getting serious. You can tell by the fact the car is now covered in fancy camouflage graphics. That’s serious business right there!
Equally, testing is serious business and after a short evaluation break following their previous test Hyundai has been busy testing the i20 at altitude.
“This car is similar in specification to the one we used in Finland in August, but it does feature a couple of new elements,” explained Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Michel Nandan. “High altitude is one of the challenges we’ll have to overcome next year in the FIA World Rally Championship, especially in Mexico where the stages go up to 2,500 metres above sea level.
“The performance of the car can be affected under these conditions so the aim on this test was to study the engine behaviour and monitor the impact on the engine power. We also took the opportunity to keep on working on gravel set-up solutions and complete some good mileage with the car.”
Hyundai Motorsport take the i20 WRC to altitude
- Hyundai Motorsport resumed testing the i20 WRC after a short break in early September
- The WRC team prepared for high altitude conditions during the second half of the month with tests conducted in southern Spain
Alzenau, Germany. September 30, 2013 – After a busy summer of intensive testing, the development of the Hyundai i20 WRC continued in the second half of September as the Hyundai Motorsport team returned to the tarmac on a three-day test session in France followed by a week of testing on gravel at high-altitude in the South of Spain.
Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Michel Nandan, said: “For the last couple of months we’ve tested every two weeks on all kinds of conditions and surfaces to continue the collection of valuable feedback and data. After the Finland test, it was very important for us to take a short break back at the factory in order to review and evaluate the work done so far as the schedule will be even busier from now on.â€
The Hyundai Motorsport team travelled from Germany to France in mid-September and then on to the South of Spain last week to test the car at altitude with both Bryan Bouffier and Juho Hänninen behind-the-wheel of a brand new i20 WRC.
“This car is similar in specification to the one we used in Finland in August, but it does feature a couple of new elements. High altitude is one of the challenges we’ll have to overcome next year in the FIA World Rally Championship, especially in Mexico where the stages go up to 2,500 metres above sea level. The performance of the car can be affected under these conditions so the aim on this test was to study the engine behaviour and monitor the impact on the engine power. We also took the opportunity to keep on working on gravel set-up solutions and complete some good mileage with the car,†explained Nandan.
Hyundai Motorsport’s test programme will continue over the next three months as the challenge in next year’s WRC begins in just over 100 days.