New Hyundai i20 R5 to face tough world baptism run in Corsica
Hyundai’s all-new i20 R5 will face its toughest test yet when it makes its World Rally Championship debut in Corsica at the end of this month.
The Korean firm will field an official car for Kevin Abbring and his British co-driver Seb Marshall, with Hyundai’s all-new Customer Racing department helping support a pair of private entries for former Tour of Corsica winner (when it was running as a European Rally Championship round) Stephane Sarrazin and 23-year-old Italian Fabio Andolfi.
Abbring, who was a star of last year’s Tour of Corsica, running in second place before crashing out, said: “We’ve been testing since January and it’s all been building up to this point, so to be part of the car’s WRC2 debut is a great way for us to celebrate our achievement in reaching this point in the project.
“We know we have a strong package for Tarmac, but Corsica is one of the toughest rallies of the season. While it would obviously be great for me to come away with a strong result, the weekend will be all about the team and the i20 R5.”
Hyundai team principal Michel Nandan said Corsica represented a proud and significant moment for the team. “The foundation of the Customer Racing department was an important expansion, and we will have six Hyundai Motorsport-built entries at the start. For the first time we will run a car other than our WRC.”