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2014 Hyundai i20 WRC Makes "Strong Progress" in Gravel Test

As the 2013 World Rally Championship season is well underway, Hyundai Motorsport is busy developing their 2014 i20-based rally car. The Korean automaker announced that its Motorsport division just finished testing the vehicle in gravel conditions for the very first time, reporting "strong progress on its development program".
2014 Hyundai i20 WRC testing 1 photo
Photo: Hyundai
The 2014 Hyundai i20 WRC was driven by the team's recently signed development drivers - Juho Hanninen, Bryan Bouffier and Christ Atkinson - in southern France, where new components were tested in appropriate conditions for the WRC series.

“We have had a very solid month of testing and learned a lot about the performance potential of the new Hyundai i20 WRC in a range of conditions. As with any inaugural testing, there have been some teething issues to overcome but this is precisely the purpose of testing and we have taken time to analyse and understand the problems. We have signed three very competent development drivers in Juho, Bryan and Chris, and the balance of the last month of testing has, for me, been positive.”

"We have had a lot of work to do in a short space of time but I can sense we are working well as a unified team. We have attained another important milestone by kicking off our gravel tests but we have more still to do in the remaining months before Monte-Carlo. We have hit every target so far and I am proud of the entire team effort. We look forward to our next phase of development with optimism,” he added.

In order to prepare the i20 for the 2014 World Rally Championship season, Hyundai appointed former Citroen, Peugeot and Toyota key people earlier this year.
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About the author: Ciprian Florea
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Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer.
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