HYUNDAI MOTORSPORT

CAR: HYUNDAI I20 COUPE WRC BASED: AL ZEN AU, GERMANY TEAM PRINCIPAL: ANDREA ADAMO

Thierry Neuville (BEL)

#11 Age: 30 Starts: 97 Wins: 9 Titles: 0 Co-driver: Nicolas Gilsoul The Belgian needs to find a way to elongate the superb starts he’s made to the last two years if he’s going to build a more successful title tilt when he gets to Australia. He has all the ingredients, including a revised management structure he pushed for, but his chances will depend on how much of the Tanak threat is realised.

Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR)

#89 Age: 29 Starts: 100 Wins: 3 Titles: 0 Co-driver: Anders Jaeger Has to make this year stick. He knows it, his boss knows it and the world knows it. There were flashes of Mikkelsen’s potential last year, but only in a very small working window for the car. The combination of the Norwegian and the i20 beneath him has to bear fruit early in the year or his seat could be under threat.

Sebastien Loeb (FRA)

#19 Age: 44 Starts: 172 Wins: 79 Titles: 9 Co-driver: Daniel Elena A six-round farewell tour or the start of something new? Who knows? Who cares? The king’s back – but, for the first time in his professional career, he’s changed his colours. Expect Loeb to put his new Hyundai company car in the ballpark from the start, fine-tuning and finishing first might take a little longer.

Dani Sordo (ESP)

#6 Age: 35 Starts: 159 Wins: 1 Titles: 0 Co-driver: Carlos del Barrio The threat of losing his job sparked an exceptional upturn in the twilight of the popular Spaniard’s career last season and we should expect more of the same this time around. Having his old mate Loeb back with him’s a double-edged sword though – the Frenchman’s nabbed many of the events Sordo would fancy. We won’t see Dani until Mexico.