HYUNDAI WRC: Here’s the up-to-date story in photos and video of the development of the Hyundai i20 WRC including today's photos of Juho Hänninen: HYUNDAI i20 WRC IN PICTURES (with images, tweets) · RallyingUK · Storify
Printable View
HYUNDAI WRC: Here’s the up-to-date story in photos and video of the development of the Hyundai i20 WRC including today's photos of Juho Hänninen: HYUNDAI i20 WRC IN PICTURES (with images, tweets) · RallyingUK · Storify
Just realized that the speeding up of things in Huyndai has a good reason. Since next year there shall be the freezing of homologations for three years period. However next year is also last year for current stock i20. If they manage to homologate the old i20, the new 2015 car will have different homologation number and can be basically all new without breaking the rules if I understand that right.
Where do they stand concerning the agreement to extend current homologation for another year? Will the homologation circle go from 2014-2017 or now is changed to 2015-2018 or just 2 years 2015-2017? Does this agreement also involve Hyundai in any way?
Bouffier still consider young talent?
For sure no, he is 34 and half.
If you want to look at France, it's Consani (Stéphane), Chardonnet, Lefebvre, Gilbert, Martin, and Garcia (too young for the moment, but it's next very good french driver).
And Bonnefis and Ancian, even if they are a step higher, are other options.
But I think none of them (except maybe Garcia, let's years passed in order to see if he can confirm) has the talent to become the next Loeb or Ogier.
I think that's exactly the point that's being missed or rather misinterpreted. But Mirek has picked it correctly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rallyper
Neither of the Seb's, at the time of their elevation to WRC factory status, had credentials any superior to those of some of the contenders today. In fact, in some cases, it's quite the reverse. And yet they are dismissed by some as "not experienced enough", "not old enough", "not fast enough" etc .... Nonsense, absolute nonsense.
There are competitors there, in the wings now, who if given half the opportunities and resources that have been gifted to some others would be in title contention today.
Well, I think the second driver will be a young fast one - Hänninen is already the experienced older driver. So no Meeke, PG or others for the second car.
Didn't VW say they wanted an experienced driver and a young one? So which is which comparing JML and Ogier?.... :/
Such as? (apart from the Kiwi guy...)Quote:
Originally Posted by sollitt
To even mention guys like tanak is a joke. He had all his chances.
both m-sport guys is young still, i think both novikov and østberg would step up a bit in a other team, a big factoryteam will suit them both. Both has also 1yr contracts.
other young guys that are both fast and lots of 4wd experience, is norwegian guys like Sveinung bieltvedt, Anders grøndal and Eyvind brynhildsen. All of these 3 is blistering fast in N4's, and not only on snow. The would probably beat all in wrc2 if they got the same equipement. Remember grøndal in n4 was fast in sweden against rrc's and s2000's. The other's has the same speed. And atleast grøndal and bieltvedt has never any DNF's :)
Take a look through your files, they never said that. They set up the second team with Mikkelsen to a) Provide more test days, b) evaluate his worth. Next year if they deem Wiegand good enough then you could see an Ogier / Wiegand and Latvala / Mikkelsen set of pairings.Quote:
Originally Posted by GigiGalliNo1
Is it really that hard for some people to come up with names from drivers who aren't from the same country as the them?
It´s quite natural because you know your homeland guys better than mates from other countries. And as long as you are serious and as neutral as possible it´s nothing wrong with that I suppose.Quote:
Originally Posted by EightGear
... said Abbring supporter :DQuote:
Originally Posted by EightGear
I do understand people want their countrymen to fill the Hyundai seat, and yes I hope Abbring takes it, but I won't be lobbying for him or someone else on a public forum.Quote:
Originally Posted by stefanvv
Some names are unrealistic as well, I mean what has Sveinung Bieltvedt done internationally the past year? Don't get me wrong, it is totally fine to be a supporter of a certain driver, but we are talking about the second factory seat in a WRC team so let's keep it realistic. ;)
Hehe, definitely a good point in this discussion.Quote:
Originally Posted by EightGear
The neutral and serious part is often missing though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rallyper
This is a good example of pretty biased view...Quote:
Originally Posted by skarderud
You are right of course ;) And you had more point to lobbiyng for him as VW2 driver, than some drivers mentioned here. Yes they are young (and probably talented), that's what Hyunday is looking for, but still we must be realistic indeed because Hyunday would want to make the best choice for them to prove themselves next year. I also could lobby for Bulgarian drivers, we have tallented ones too, but hey, that's just fiction.Quote:
Originally Posted by EightGear
I can confirm after talks (from an exceptionally reliable source from within the WRC circle, who I cannot name due to disclosure reasons), that Juho Hanninen is not the only driver to have tested the i20 WRC. Sorry Petter fans, it is not him, nor any driver with a current WRC car program.
Well, good 4wd drivers is closer than good 2wd drivers.
of course i know my local's better than other, but grøndal is know fast international, so when bieltvedt is equal fast to him...
much better sugestion than tanak, Duval and other known crashers that alredy got theire changes too many times alredy.
tidemand is i big talent, last 10 yrs is full of good talents that never got a decent chance to show what they can. They didn't got enough money to even book a meeting....
pontus is in my opinion one of those that should got a decent chance.
both abring and kruuda and other also, but no point for me to talk about them, other people do, and i really don't know them that good.
Estonia has several good drivers, in my opinion tanak ruined the other guys chances by hold up a seat.
Anyone know why Hyundai chose the i20? Not the i30 3-door? In Australia the i20 is like a Getz small hatchback. Not even competing against a Polo TSI or Ford Fiesta. i30 is a tad larger and sells more in Australia in both 5door hatch and wagon and now Euro sourced 3door which will sell more... But I must say, I see some i20's around and they're catching my eye due to the WRC factor... but all the new Hyundai's have the same face/front so it should be fine with the family "look"
It's logical choice (although I would personally prefer Veloster).
i30 is too big for current regulations. 4300 x 1780 mm for base car is much larger than any recent WRC/S2000. The only close one is Auris/Corolla S2000 which also suffered from being too heavy because recent rules doesn't allow to drop so much weight like with the old 2.0 WRC cars.
i20 is 3995 x 1710 mm which is actually slightly larger than some recent WRC/S2000 base cars (and much larger than Peugeot 206 was). It's also direct competitor to cars of others. All come from B-class segment. The i30 is from one class higher C-segment.
In Europe the i10 is the Getz-a-like. The i20 is available in 2-door 'hot hatch' and 4-door Polo / Fiesta competitor. The i30 is more Focus sized. As VW have shown, polar moment is everything, hence their decision to go with the Polo / Skoda set-up rather than the Golf or Scirocco. Hyundai are just demonstrating that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.Quote:
Originally Posted by GigiGalliNo1
You are not correct. Have a look in my post. Cars in the market are generally placed in segments A, B, C, D etc. mainly based on their dimensions.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mintexmemory
Segment A - Citroën C1, C2, Peugeot 107, Hyundai i10 (before it was Atos), Ford Ka, Fiat Panda, VW Up, Škoda Citigo, Kia Picanto...
Segment B - Citroën C3, DS3, Peugeot 208, Hyundai i20 (before it was Getz), Ford Fiesta, Fiat Punto, VW Polo, Škoda Fabia, Kia Rio etc.
Segment C - Citroën C4, Peugeot 308, Hyundai i30, Ford Focus, Fiat Bravo, VW Golf, Kia Cee'd etc.
It has not much to do with copying rather than using a brain. Segment B cars are ideal for making cars under current rules. C-ones are too big and heavy, A-ones are too small. Also it's logical to use same class car as Your opponent for marketing purposes - they compete with each other like on the market.
Isn't it Panizzi? Or do you mean someone else?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mitch555
I think Mirek was spot on about your comment. But let me clarify one thing, to mention Bieltvedt, Grondal and Brynildsen in a same post as faster drivers is quite funny now. If you look at current results then Tänak is waay above other in Baltics with an old Impreza. He has the speed, this is granted, but about the personality - as far as I have heard he's quite stubborn b@#%ard. Meanwhile lot of people are praising his technical skills as Gross has not had any problems since moving over to OT Racing vs lot of problems with MM Motorsport.Quote:
Originally Posted by skarderud
And I'm far for being Tänak fan, just don't quite like bashing some guys and constantly seeing scandinavians praising their drivers without a reason. Tidemand is an exception for me, but Per's constant praising is funny as hell.
What comes to estonian guys, than they are way behind Tänak and noone has the maturity to succeed in WRC at this point, although some of them are showing some promise (like many guys in other countries). I like many drivers from different countries, so nationalism is not my thing ;)
The most logical choice for Hyundai young driver would be definitely Neuville but I guess there will be quite a fight for him from all teams except VW which seems to have no reason to change their driver lineup.
Neuville for me too - has matured a lot and constantly driving top stage timesQuote:
Originally Posted by Mirek
Nothing at all logical in selecting Neuville as No2 to Hanninen! If you are expecting the Hyundai to be quick 'out of the box' it would be a recipe for a 2011 Citroen scenario repeat. Neuville already has better WRC credentials than Hanninen and would not view himself as a No 2 to Juho. Weijs, Abbring, Chardonnet or any other similar whippersnapper without podia to his name would better fit the billQuote:
Originally Posted by Mirek
Who said the young would be declared No.2 driver? Who said that Juho will be their No.1 driver in 2014? Just asking...
All press articles here in Finland talk only about Juho´s 6 months testing contract. I haven´t see any mention that he is Hyundai race driver, yet!
Not mine either, for sure. But there´s not any contradiction in me praising Tidemand. You have to understand that. Beside Neuville (which is a driver already positioned in the top drivers division in WRC) Tidemand is one of very few young guys that has shown the whole package, which I believe Huyndai as well as other teams want out of their drivers, youngsters or seniors.Quote:
Originally Posted by cali
In what segment you would place Fiat 500? A or B?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mirek
Novikov and Ostberg this year have( almost )do the same as Tanak.Are they jokes too?Quote:
Originally Posted by skarderud
plenty of local drivers are extreme fast vs wrc2 regulars.Quote:
Originally Posted by skarderud
Athanassoulas vs Sandell to name just one.Athanassoulas at his first attempt with s2000 car with no testing.For 3 years before that he had rallied 3 times only.other competitors wereNikara,Arai,Al Attiyah,prokop,Flodin ,Araujo.
plenty ofexamples like that.
BQuote:
Originally Posted by A.F.F.
It's difficult with some cars, 500 or Mini is a good example.
1.To me, Novikov and Ostberg have been even bigger dissapointments than Tänak last year.They are factory drivers,they have factory cars, they have a lot of time for testing..but the results table looks more than embarassing.One podium for the whole team?Quote:
Originally Posted by dimviii
2. Why I deared to put Tänak in potential list? As Cali already mentioned. His technical skills are great. It is just astonishing to see that driver (gr N winning driver on the same rally) jumps out from the car at service, takes out his laptop and checks his team-mate WR Car data, tells mechanics what to do and then goes to the next stages. And as it was mentioned before. This WRC has done three rallies and at least two sprints without any failiure. Moreover, in recent rallies he has shown that he knows where is the limit and even if the other driver is in front..he is able to wait and not push over the limit (like in Latvia). And he is thinking more strategically (like in Viru rally, he decided to push when he had advantage - second on the road, road was damp, first few km-s were on tarmac and very tricky stage suited to his older car.
I still maintain Ott T will win WRC rallies someday. His performance in Sardinia in 2011 was breathtaking and indicative of a big talent. Maybe the M-Sport year was a vital part of growing up. At least I can't be accused of national bias in saying this. (He won't get the Hyudai gig though ;) )
No Teme, not Panizzi. This is a guy who has been competing in the World Rally Championship at various levels the past few years. So could well be the second young driver that has been suggested will be at Hyundai.Quote:
Originally Posted by Teme
HAH! Any more obvious Mitch555
dear all please wait for a bit
it'll be petter and hirvonen/sordo/nuveile