Hyundai Motorsport has today announced Finnish driver Juho Hänninen as one of the team’s test drivers for 2013, ending weeks of speculation over the mystery man behind the wheel of the Hyundai i20 WRC in May.
Hyundai Motorsport has been building up its new operation from scratch since the start of the year, establishing the team at a dedicated facility in Alzenau, Germany and recruiting specialists at every level of its organisation.
Test drivers are an integral part of the team’s development programme, requiring the necessary skills and experience to develop a competitive and reliable rally car in a short space of time.
Six months ahead of the debut at Rallye Monte-Carlo in January 2014, Hyundai Motorsport is in the process of carrying out an intensive test programme to evaluate and develop the i20 WRC on all terrains and conditions.
Hänninen won the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in 2010 followed by the FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship and the FIA European Rally Championship titles in 2011 and 2012 respectively. He will be a valuable asset for the team to prepare the assault to the 2014 FIA World Rally Championship.
Hyundai Motorsport will soon be in a position to announce a second test driver for the remainder of the 2013 test phase. 2014 drivers will be announced at the end of the year.
Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Michel Nandan commented: “We’re very pleased to welcome Juho on board for our 2013 test programme. I’m sure his experience and background will contribute to the project and I’m happy with the job he’s done so far.
We have decided to work with different drivers with unique skills and capabilities this year, which will provide us with valuable feedback for 2014.
Hänninen said: “I’m delighted to be part of the Hyundai Motorsport testing programme for this year. It’s a fantastic opportunity to work closely to a manufacturer and to give my contribution to this great challenge.
The first run with the i20 WRC was quite positive for me; I’m very impressed with the work the team has done so far in such an incredibly short space of time. I feel comfortable with everyone in the team and I look forward to carry on working with them in the next six months.”
Car 1, Ogier/Ingrassia
“It was good, but now the real stuff is starting tomorrow.”
Car 2, Latvala/Anttila
“It was going pretty well, I had a good run. Too sideways in some places, but overall it was a good run.”
Car 3, Meeke/Nagle
“This rally is going to be a huge challenge for me, the recce was a challenge. First pass will be a high-speed recce to be honest. Whether the stages are still holding water, we don’t know. ”
Car 4, Ostberg/Anderson
“I don’t have good memories from this stage, that’s how it is. I’m not able to be fast on this stage, I tried. I’m looking forward to the gravel tomorrow. I hope to repeat the pace of last year, we’ll try everything we can with a bit of care.”
Car 5, Hirvonen/Lehtinen
“We haven’t had too many good results this year. Pace was good in Mexico, so we’ll try to build on that. As I get more mileage with the car I get more confident with the car, don’t have to think as much and just relax with the car.”
Car 6, Evans/Barritt
“Looking forward to the event. I’m sure we’ll find out tomorrow.”
Car 7, Neuville/Gilsoul
“I enjoyed it, I made a small mistake on the first loop and lost some time. I lost maybe half a second. I’ll have to have a look at the tyres. We’ll have to keep out feet on the ground, we’re not on the level yet, we’re still improving.”
Car 8, Hänninen/Tuominen
“Feeling good, I need to get a relaxed drive and run for tomorrow. It’s a nice stage, really drivable.”
Car 9, Mikkelsen/ Markkula
“Clean run, not perfect, but ok. Good enough. We tried to do what we can to make it go on tarmac without changing the whole car. We’ll what happens out there.”
Car 10, Kubica/ Szczepaniak
“I took it very easy in Mexico, so I took it very easy here. I hope I can learn from last year. There are different stages from last year, conditions are completely different to last year so it’ll be a totally different rally.”
Car 12, Al Qassimi/ Patterson
“It’s exciting, the people enjoyed it. It’s quite slippy. I just want maximum grip. It’s difficult to judge in a lot of places.”
Car 16, Solberg/Minor
“I’m happy with the car, we’ll see tomorrow.”
Car 20, Sordo/Marti
“We picked the wrong tyre for this stage.”
Car 21, Prokop/Tománek
“Looking forward to it. Not an easy start with a long day waiting. Let’s see for tomorrow. We made new pace notes with a new co-driver. It was difficult to see. Let’s hope it’s correct.”
Car 32, Protasov/Cherepin
“I’m happy, I drove fast, I don’t know what time I got, but I’m happy. My plan is to finish! ”
Car 40, Al-Attiyah/Bernacchini
“It was a fantastic race, there’s a lot of people. It’s good for the people, the sponsor and the rally. It’s a fantastic day. I hope we have a good rally. I will do my best to win WRC2”
Car 43, Sousa/Magalhães
“It’s so good to be back, I’m really happy. I’ve only has 130km in the car. There’s still a long way to go. I know that I don’t have the perfect rhythm at the moment.”
Car 70, Kruuda/Jäveoja
“It was more fun than anything I think, I just wanted to get through the stage. I just wanted to take it easy. It got better at the end, it was already fun. I want the same result as in Sweden, but I just want all the points I can get.”
Car 72, Moura/Costa
“It was fantastic because being first on the road on a super special is something amazing. I dreamt of this day. It’s a good car, though it’s not the latest one. When we talk on Friday I’ll ask for a turbo car!”
Car 73, Meireles/Castro
“I went with no fear. The stages were dangerous, so we had caution. But everything with the car is good.”
Car 75, Madeira/Silva
“I feel the car is good, we liked this tarmac car. We’ll see on the gravel. Looking for a good day on the gravel tomorrow.”