2016 Hyundai i20 R5

MICHEL NANDAN: YPRES RALLY IS 'A SPECIAL EVENT' FOR HYUNDAI MOTORSPORT

◾The Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal looks ahead to the public debut of the New Generation i20 R5 at the Ypres Rally (June 23-25)
◾For the first time Hyundai Motorsport will attend an event that does not involve the team's WRC programme
◾A very high level of interest is expected, with the new car on the stages and in the Service Park in the centre of Ypres.

Alzenau, Germany
June 20, 2016 - The New Generation i20 R5 will appear in public for the first time next weekend, running as a course car at the Ypres Rally, the fifth round of this year's European Rally Championship (ERC). While the Customer Racing department at Hyundai Motorsport prepares for the crucial weekend, Team Principal Michel Nandan speaks about what he expects at the rally, and where the Belgian event fits into the development programme for the car.

The 2016 Ypres Rally will be the first public showing of the New Generation i20 R5. How significant is this event?
'That this will be the car's maiden run in public, in front of rally fans and our future customers on the stages is significant in itself, but it is also a special event in the history of Hyundai Motorsport. Our attendance at this event, is separate from our WRC programme, which has been our sole focus for much of the last four years. For the Ypres Rally weekend we focus on the New Generation i20 R5, the first Hyundai Motorsport car built for customers. This is a very important project for the company, not only because it will represent us to customers, but it will also carry the Hyundai brand to a wider audience of motorsport fans. With this new car we will be able to give an even greater profile to the high-performance engineering capabilities of the manufacturer by competing in new championships, new countries and in front of new fans.'

Why was the Ypres Rally chosen for the first public appearance of the car?


How does running at the Ypres Rally fit in with the continuing development of the New Generation i20 R5?


'With our first outing in public the New Generation i20 R5 project is entering the final stages of development. The weekend at Ypres is a pivotal weekend for the Customer Racing department, but we are also taking advantage of an opportunity to continue our testing. The stages in Ypres are unique; very fast, very narrow but still demanding on brakes. Due to the demands of the R5 class it is important that our car is competitive on a wide range of roads and surfaces. This has been one of the key aims of the test programme. The mileage completed at Ypres will add to our knowledge about the car. Following Ypres there are further tests planned, as we want to make the most of the time we have up to our planned homologation date.'

The schedule of the project has been quite tight, has that been a concern during development?

'When we drew up the schedule for the Customer Racing department we knew that it was a tough task. To go from foundation, through testing to the first public appearance in just nine months is very demanding, even more when developing a car for such a competitive category as R5. Sometimes the tight schedule we have set ourselves have meant being flexible in our planning. This has allowed us to make the best use of the time; whether that be adding to the test mileage the car has completed, or developing and preparing the car back at Hyundai Motorsport headquarters in Alzenau.'

Are you satisfied with the amount of testing the New Generation i20 R5 has completed during its development?

What are the next stages for the New Generation i20 R5 project after the Ypres Rally?

'We have some more tests planned before homologation. For the test team the main objective for the remaining development will be to extract the maximum performance from the whole package. The team is also looking further ahead to what we need to do in order make the New Generation i20 R5 project a success in the long-term. In order to do this we have begun recruiting engineering staff who will continue the development work and offer teams support, while our sales department prepares to manage the needs of our customers, once they begin to compete with their new car.'

About Hyundai Motorsport's Customer Racing Department

Hyundai Motorsport GmbH established its Customer Racing department in September 2015 with the aim of enhancing Hyundai's motorsport image around the world – in parallel to its WRC programme. The company began work on a new R5 car based on Hyundai's New Generation i20 WRC and carried out the first test and rollout of the vehicle in January 2016. Led by Customer Racing Manager Andrea Adamo, the R5 is on target to begin deliveries to customers before the end of 2016 and will be available to professional and amateur drivers for use in WRC2 and national / regional Championships.

Further information about Hyundai Motorsport is available at: http://motorsport.hyundai.com

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 bestsellers such as Elantra, Sonata and Genesis. Hyundai Motor has eight manufacturing bases and seven design & technical centres 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.

Source - Hyundai