The Hyundai Shell World Rally Team will see a slight change to its driver
line-up for Sweden as lead driver Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul will be
joined by Finnish ace, and Hyundai test driver, Juho Hänninen with Tomi
Tuominen.
The team started
to prepare for Rally Sweden in early December with a five-day test in
Rovaniemi, Finland, close to the Arctic Polar Circle, where both Neuville and
Hänninen had a first taste of driving the Hyundai i20 WRC on snow. Both drivers
will have an additional day of testing ahead of next week’s rally.
After a very
unlucky Rallye Monte-Carlo, Neuville has only one objective for Rally Sweden:
to bring their Hyundai i20 WRC to the finish: “I don’t have much experience on Rally Sweden – having only competed
there twice before - and snow is probably my least favourite surface but it’s a
rally where I enjoy a lot driving and where we got a good result last year
(fifth place). It’s a unique rally - very fast, with narrow roads and big snow
banks alongside the roads. We tested for a couple of days for Sweden back in
December where we got the first feeling of driving the Hyundai i20 WRC in full
winter conditions. We also started to work on set-up solutions for this
specific event. We also had another day of testing last weekend which allowed
us to do some final adjustments and cover some more kilometres ahead of the
rally.”
Hänninen, who
clinched his best WRC result to date at Rally Sweden last year when he finished
sixth (in a Fiesta) said: “I was already privileged to be the first
behind the wheel of the Hyundai i20 WRC back in May 2013 but being in Sweden
with the team will feel even more special. It will be my first event within a
WRC factory team and, for sure, it will be a special moment that I will
remember for a long time. Rally Sweden is one of my favourite events. For a
Finn, to drive on snow is almost a natural thing so of course we would like to
get a good result but the main target for Tomi and I will be to finish the
event and get as much experience as possible for the team.”
This year’s Rally
Sweden will take the competitors to the forests of the Värmland region,
crossing the border for two stages in Norway. Hyundai Shell WRT’s tyre partner
Michelin will supply winter tyres fitted with over 380 tungsten-tipped studs.
The drivers will
also have anti-glare glasses - and heated boots!
Note to self: Wonder if I can
get a pair for the Arnold Clark Thistle Snowman in Inverness in 3 weeks time?
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