We took the opportunity to get an up-close look at an intense test session with the i20 – the car with which Hyundai will take on the World Rally Championship. We get a behind-the-scenes look at how the 2014 WRC challenge is being prepared.
At the Sport Hotel in Falset, Spain, the alarm goes off at the break of dawn. Outside it’s still dark, but there’s no time to lose. At 6.30am, we’re on the way to Bellaguarda with the boys from Hyundai Motorsport. A difficult place to find, even with Google Maps – a small dot in the middle of nowhere, a field of battered dirt in between two peeling goal posts on the edge of the Montsant Natural Park, an-hour-and-a-half of winding roads from Terragona. This is the team’s base camp for another day of test-driving the i20, which, in January, will compete in the World Rally Championship. It’s a special day – one in which we’ve been allowed to participate in to gauge the state of tune of the car that will see the Korean brand participate in the very toughest championship in all of motorsport.
There are some precedents already set for Hyundai – for instance, the Accent WRC managed to rustle up a few points in the 2000-2003 World Championships. Today, however, the feeling of a big jump in quality (and ambition) is much more palpable.
In a little less than a year, the project has started from scratch and reached where we are now. A team had to be built first – presently consisting of around 80 people, which should grow to 108 (from 17 different nationalities) by January. Next, a head office had to be found (a nice 8,200m shed was found at Alxenau, close to Frankfurt). Then a team principal had to be found (Michel Nandan, known for his success with the Peugeot WRC), along with a team manager (Alain Penasse, the guy test-driving during these trials). Other test-drivers had to be hired (Bouffier, French; Hanninen, Finnish; and Atkinson, Australian). In other words, it was a big task. The results are in front of us to see, underneath a tent, while the boys are busy warming up the i20 WRC’s engine before 9 o’clock, at which time the test-driver will get behind the wheel – it’s Bouffier’s turn, tomorrow it’ll be Hannien.
Made in Europe
But really, there’s not all that much Asian-ness when you look at Hyundai’s compact car. When we manage to elude the surveillance of our hosts, we immediately discover that the brakes, electronics, and rims are Italian, belonging to Brembo, Magneti Marelli and OZ respectively. Moreover, the suspension components are from German firm, Reiger, the transmission (all-wheel) from Britain, X-Track, and the tyres from France, Michelin – though there’s a touch of Italianness here as well. Assisting the team is Roberto Fusetti, who arrived with a truckload of rubber from the headquarters of Michelin in Clermont-Ferrand. And this is quite helpful, since the harder compound tyres don’t last more than 60-80 kilometres on a special stage, while the softs on dry asphalt like today would struggle to complete 10. The bodies of the 3-door i20 come from the Indian plant in Chennai. Then there’s the collaboration with the Korean research centre in Namyang, which has contributed to the planning and the aero tests done in the wind tunnel. As far as the drivers are concerned, almost all of them are ‘Made in Europe’ – not just the test drivers, but also the team’s first official driver, Belgian Thierry Neuville, who this year obtained excellent results in the World Championship in a Ford Fiesta WRC. Bouffier has been going back and forth on the course for the last hour, collecting data and improving his times. For this session, along with the 4,500 kilometres already accumulated by the two test cars in France, Finland, and Spain, routes have been chosen that are identical or analogous to the ones used before the Spanish World Rally event.
What we really want to do is compare times – the results, however, remain top-secret. This is understandable. The team must be prudent while envisioning 2014 as a trial year, which will be a success even if it manages only a handful of podium finishes. These are Penasse’s words, who adds, “Keep in mind that even Volkswagen ran in its team, having Ogier race for a year with the Skoda Fabia S2000, while we’ve preferred to immediately participate in the WRC hoping to at least get some results.”
Constant growth
It’s just past ten, when Bouffier stops at base camp – there’s a slight oil leak in front, and the cause needs to be found. The boys begin to disassemble the front of the i20, and we take the chance to ask the French driver for his impressions. He seems satisfied. “The car,” he explains, “improves with every test, and this is encouraging. There’s still too much understeer for my taste, but the engine performance is excellent, especially as far as the power output is concerned.” Seeing that we find ourselves at about 1,000 metres of altitude, Hyundai is trying out the engine maps that it’ll use at locations such as Mexico. “We’re learning how to make the most of our tyres on asphalt,” Bouffier continues, “and the mechanical reliability is already excellent.” Alain Penasse echoes him. “The basis of the car is excellent, starting with the measurements – in the sense that a length of 4 metres is ideal for rallies. The real problem is time, because in February last year we were still stuck on a blank page, and at the start of January 2014 the car will need to be approved by the FIA – so now we have to come up with definitive solutions.” His last words are smothered by the sound of the engine. The mechanics are spinning the wheels on kick-stands to warm up the engine, with long acceleration runs followed by sudden gear engagements. Bouffier puts his helmet on and hits the road again, which is closed to traffic. The trial will go on until 7pm, in spite of the darkness that descends on the mountains of Catalonia. But the work is not finished for everyone. When the drivers and managers go back to the hotel, there are still those that have to move the equipment to a new base camp and prepare the car for the next test session. Going to bed is out of the question – there’s much to be done!
Up and down till nightfall
Darkness descends on the base camp in Bellaguarda, located in the mountainous hinterland of Spanish Terragona, but there’s still work to be done on the i20 WRC. We were able to ‘spy’ on an entire day of tests carried out by team manager Alain Penasse (below right). The goal of the tests is to find the optimal setup of the car on asphalt, and the most appropriate engine mapping for special stages at high altitude.
Impressions on the spot
We take advantage of a break in the test to get feedback from the driver, Bryan Bouffier (below), and that of team manager Alain Penasse (bottom right).
The background with the Accent
This is not exactly Hyundai’s debut in the World Rally Championship. The Korean manufacturer, in fact, has already hit the pitch in 1998 and 1999 with the Coupe, and from 2000 to 2003 with the Accent WRC. The cars were managed by the British MSD team, and driven by various drivers – among who were Kenneth Erikson, Alister McRae, Piero Liatti, Armin Schwarz, Freddy Loix, and, occasionally, Juha Kankkunen. The best result was the 4th place secured in the 2002 World Championship.
It all starts in Monte Carlo
13 RALLIES IN A YEAR
From Monaco to England, passing through South America, here’s the World Rally Championship calendar for 2014:
The Polo dominates
GOOD FIRST RUN
In the year of its debut, the Volkswagen Polo immediately won the Constructors World Championship. Credit must also go to an almost invincible Ogier.
2013 had been a triumphant season for Volkswagen. During its first year of rallying with the Polo WRC, it routed the competition and won the ‘Constructors’ title, and, thanks to Sebastian Ogier, the ‘Drivers’ title as well. The Frenchman has won almost everywhere – from the snow of Sweden, to the asphalt of Alsazia, conceding defeat on a few occasions to his majesty, Sebastien Loeb – winner of two of the four rallies that he decided to compete in this year (Argentina and Monte Carlo), before going on to concentrate on WTCC for 2014. The German team, therefore, has focused its objectives. The only bitterness is the defeat it suffered at home – the rally in Germany saw the Spaniard Dani Sordo take the win with his Citroen DS3 WRC.
© Riproduzione riservata
Write your Comment