Autosportfoto

ERC alumni continue development of Hyundai challenger

The Hyundai that could soon compete for FIA European Rally Championship honours has undergone further testing with former ERC crew Kevin Abbring and Seb Marshall.

After the Hyundai i20 R5 was put through its paces on asphalt for the first time in March in France, a further Tarmac test south of Turin in Italy last week added over 900 kilometres to the car's development. Engine performance on fast flowing roads was the focus on day one, before the handling and brakes were tested on a series of hairpins.

Abbring and Marshall, who worked on Peugeot's then-new 208 T16 R5 contender during their 2014 ERC campaign, are employed as a test and development crew at Hyundai Motorsport, though they'll also get to make World Rally Championship appearances in Portugal and Sardinia over the next six weeks.

The i20 R5 meanwhile is on course for first deliveries at the end of August, at which point it will be able to go up against models from Citroën, M-Sport, Peugeot and ŠKODA in the ERC.

Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Department Manager Andrea Adamo said: "To have completed more than 900 kilometres of testing, over three days is a great sign at this point in the New Generation i20 R5's development. It shows that we have the car running reliably, which is of course something our customers will need when they compete on events. In building a car that is designed to be driven on rallies all over the world it is important that we test on different types of stages."

Zdroj: fiaerc.com