And since the creation of the “customer racing” division of rallying, the Korean manufacturer has never known such success, even with the five-season old i20 R5 alignment. This particular Rally of Portugal will feature the first season of Teemu Suninen and Fabrizio Zaldivar, Hyundai’s official drivers in this Rally2 class.
Oliver Solberg is exceptionally at the wheel of this car, and he is also expected to be at the front, as well as Spaniard Pepe Lopez, the brand’s new driver since the beginning of the year. The addition of three Hyundai cars introduced by Team Hyundai Portugal gives scope for this commitment.
Hyundai Motorsport Deputy Director, Julien Moncet is clearly pleased with this success.
“We talk a lot about the growing strength and reputation of our customer racing division, but there is no more compelling evidence than our customer registration numbers for the Rally Portugal.
The number is clearly incredibly positive and underscores the department’s work in providing cars to teams throughout the early part of the season, but the crew quality is even more impressive.
Of course, we have a very strong pair of drivers for our WRC2 team, but Oliver Solberg, Josh McQuerlin and Bruno Magalhaes have also proven their speed in the car in previous events, with two Spanish drivers among the leading crews in the National Championship. The Hyundai Portugal backed crews that will be participating in the local event have had a strong start to the season, and I look forward to following their race progress along with our other customers and the WRC trio.”
Entry List
