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Who ever said that they are obligated to give regular updates on what they are doing?[/QUOTE]
Who ever said that Marketing, PR and the like are of any good use for a company. I guess VW were wrong in their approach during the build up period .........
Vw had full season with s2000, i20 isn't ready for testing yet.
I think you're forgetting business culture. Hyundai evidently don't want to build up excitement and expectations, only to disappoint.Quote:
Originally Posted by Leon
And the Fabia S2000 didn't really have a whole lot to do with the Polo R WRC. They mostly just used it to give the team some experience. Even if the Polo R WRC was derived directed from the Fabia S2000, what is Hyundai supposed to do, considering that they don't have any existing model that can compete as an S2000 entry? They'd essentially have to develop their development model before they could start on the WRC model, and that is a waste of time, effort and money.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barreis
While I agree with the later statement that Hyundai have no S2000 to start with I have to tell You that you underestimate the role of Fabia in Polo development.Quote:
Originally Posted by Prisoner Monkeys
First it was design reference - something what works well and what You can dismantle to bolts is always welcome for new team. Polo was not built from nothing. For example suspension mounting point positions and damper angles are same for both cars.
Second it was a reference for judging competitors. You have competitors in WRC and You have Ogier in Fabia S2000. You know on the stages the difference between WRC and Ogier was X. Now after the rally You stay there for testing on same stages. Now You have Ogier in Polo and Ogier in Fabia. You compare and the difference is Y. Than You compare X to Y and You know quite realistic difference between Polo WRC and Your WRC opponents. Thanks to splits etc. You can go further with particular sections of the stage.
With the help of Škoda they could test suspension settings on real stages with Fabia and compare Reiger and Sachs dampers both in real events and tests.
It also allowed VW to collect loads of data from real events and to practise all team working in real conditions - be it logistics, solving real issues etc. That's something You can't get without live experience.
Then let's take that in our stride and go back to the original comment that the i20 isn't ready for testing and development yet. That may be the case, but what alternative do Hyundai have? The have no S2000 model to use, and they can't exactly delay their i20 programme for an entire season with no presence in the sport. Manufacturers will only get involved if there is a pay-off involved, and Hyundai probably think that struggling through their first season and treating it as a testing and development phase is the leser evil when compared to having no presence in the category whatsoever.
That's probably the case or they are so much confident about the team of people they hired. Let's see what they can do.
Can't see they'll be good from the start without propper year of testing.
How does it look from the homologation point of view? I know that they're not longer obliged to homologate ten S2000 cars + ten WRC kits, but just ten (?) WRC cars. But, if they'll make the homologation on 1 Jan 2014, would they be locked from any major changes for another three years? That would be rather risky.
Who said that they were expecting to be?Quote:
Originally Posted by Barreis
I think the philosophy is different to VW who did a full year of testing out of competition in order to be able to battle for the top from the first stage. Hyundai I think will do that testing year directly in competition, or at least that's what the plan appears to be at the moment. We'll see how it turns out, they've recruited an experienced management team but we don't know much about the other guys, mechanics, engineers etc.