Go to contents

Hyundai Motor aims for 2016 World Rally Championship win

Hyundai Motor aims for 2016 World Rally Championship win

Posted April. 27, 2016 07:22,   

Updated April. 27, 2016 07:26

한국어

Hyundai Motor is aiming to win the 2016 World Rally Championship (WRC) after joining the event for three seasons, while working on motorsports by developing a high-performing brand “N.”

The Hyundai World Rally team has secured wins in both individual and group competitions of the fourth WRC rally in Argentina on Sunday. The company’s no.3 i20 rally car, driven by professional driver Hayden Paddon, has won the championship in both individual competition and manufacturer. It is the first time for the team to win the individual competition in the season's four rallies, while it is the second following the first rally in Monte Carlo in January. The team was ranked second in the second rally in Sweden and third in the third rally in Mexico, maintaining the second position in the manufacturers' standings.

The Hyundai World Rally Team has scored 81 points on a cumulative basis in the past four rallies this season, getting closer to Volkswagen (117 points) by a 36-point margin. “We have nine more rallies this season,” the automaker said. “If the team continues the pace as it has done, it could win this season’s championship.”

The motorsports industry sees Hyundai Motor is performing well given its short history in the competition. The team joined the WRC in 2014 for the first time while its competitors including Volkswagen, Citroen and Ford have built technologies from their 40-year experiences since the creation of the championship in 1973. In the manufacturers' standings, Hyundai Motor was ranked fourth in 2014 and then third in 2015.

The Korean automaker said that its strong performance in the WRC is thanks to the new i20 rally car. Hyundai Motor developed the i20 WRC based on their data and experiences from participating in the competition for the past two years.



김성규기자 sunggyu@donga.com