BLOG: The Magic of the Monte & 2014 WRC

Wow. We said this year's WRC would be a cracker, and, if the season opener – the iconic Monte Carlo Rally – is anything to go by, we were right! What an absolutely thrilling, magic Monte event, setting us all up for a superb 2014 season.
In deeply challenging, changeable conditions – with rain, ice and then so much snow the famous Col De Turini stage was cancelled – Volkswagen’s 2013 champion Sebastian Ogier steered his Polo R WRC to victory, climbing the leader board over the event, to take the win.
Incredibly, second place went to privateer, Bryan Bouffier, who was out to prove a point on his home soil, having narrowly missed out on a factory drive with Hyundai's new i20 this year. Hats off to the Frenchman, who certainly got tongues wagging, leading for much of the event, until Ogier overtook him on stage nine: A phenomenal achievement for a private entry team.
It was a superb, dream start for Brit Kris Meeke too – in his first full WRC season as a Citroen factory driver, who drove a sublime, consistent event, to take third and obviously loved it, while his characterful team-mate Mads Ostberg brought his DS3 WRC home in fourth, in his first competitive drive for Citroen. Impressive stuff for what looks like a very content Citroen team this year.

VW ace and total dude, Jari-Matti Latvala took fifth after a tough start to the event, proving he's a title contender again this year, if luck stays with him.
And new-WRC-blood British rally star, Elfyn Evans drove his superbly-livered M-Sport Fiesta RS WRC to a deeply impressive sixth place – showing maturity way beyond his years. That bodes so well for the young Welsh superstar.

Seventh place went to the stylish, WRC social media expert, Andreas Mikkelsen, who's starting his first full season in the VW Polo R WRC – which looks as cool as he does on the stages again this year. And with next to no pressure, and growing experience, expect some good things from Andreas in 2014.
The all-new Hyundai team rocked the parc ferme with a deeply impressive, flashy new service area set-up – using first names for their drivers, in a successful bid to set an open, friendly, accessible image in the sport and setting new standards in mechanical support, which is sure to stir things up with the other teams and puts their flag firmly in thew WRC soil.
Unfortunately, despite the cars being competitively quick from the off, it was not the dream start that VW had last year with their new Polo for the funky-looking, great-sounding, fresh i20 WRC – as Thierry Neuville made an uncharacteristic error and crashed out of the event... on the first stage, much to his embarrassment and the team's frustration. And things went from bad to worst when Dani Sordo – who was posting good times in the i20 – was forced to retire with electrical gremlins. Sad news for the ambitious new team who say 2014 is all about learning. But we know they really want some podiums, if not event wins. Never mind. I'm sure they will be back with gusto in Sweden February 5th-8th, when the WRC teams take on even deeper snow than they faced here on the magic Monte, and it's great to have Hyundai so committed to WRC.

Former F1 star Robert Kubica's run of bad WRC luck continued in his new Fiesta RS WRC. Having set two fastest stage times on SS1 and SS2 – proving his pace once again – Kubica understeered off into a bridge in spectacular style shortly afterwards, forcing his retirement and lots of repair work on his car, again. Doh.
And it was also dreadful luck for Mikko Hirvonen – back with his old M-Sport pals in his Fiesta RS WRC – who was all set to take a solid sixth place, when his car packed up on the 15th, very last stage of the rally, having suffered alternator issues. Gutted. But, as rally icon, Francois Delecour always used to say about this magical sport: "That's rallying, no?!"
What an event – only enhanced by being able to watch the coverage live this year on new BT Sport! And on highlights on the Tuesday after the events on ITV4 on domestic UK TV.
Bring on the rest of the 2014 calendar, which this year includes Rally Poland back on the agenda. And with two new teams in VW and Hyundai and Citroen and Ford making improvements to match the new blood and fresh-faced, professional, happy and competitive drivers galore – many with a good chance of taking the title – UK TV coverage and two awesome British drivers in Meeke and Evans to support, it's just so great to see WRC back on its feet. Long live WRC!

BLOG: Just How Ace Will WRC 2014 Be?

This year's WRC has been totally splendid – with VW making history dominating the drivers' and manufacturers' championships with their new Polo R, and the season ending on such a high with a VW 1-2 at a revitalised Wales Rally GB, as you can read in our latest issue here.

And with Hyundai stepping up to the plate with the fresh-faced i20 WRC for 2014 – with the youthful talent of the new Mr consistency, Thierry Neuville, the multi-surface skills of testing ace Juho Hänninen, the tarmac-terrorist, Dani Sordo and gravel giant, Chris Atkinson driving – the sport is looking in finer and finer shape. 

It's so great to have two new teams and their cool new cars to battle alongside the more establish Citroën Racing DS3 WRC and M-Sport's Ford Fiesta RS WRC. 

And the best news – for us British rally fans, who still miss the days of Burns & McRae doing battle with the best – is that we now have not one, but two British drivers in top teams and ace, established cars in the 2014 WRC.

Kris Meeke gets a WRC seat with co-driver Paul Nagle (racing alongside Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson) in an all-new Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team line up, which you can read about here. 

And now, after a storming season in WRC2 – including his win at Wales Rally GB by a country mile – Malcolm Wilson has gifted Welshman, Elfyn Evans an M-Sport drive in the Fiesta RS WRC in 2014. Yay!

Both announcements are massive boosts for UK rallying – coming following what was without doubt the best Wales Rally GB for years – and they make for a thrilling prospect for 2014 WRC, for all rally fans, but especially us Brits.  

Andrew Coe, Chief Executive of Wales Rally GB organiser International Motor Sports is understandably ecstatic at the prospect of having two British drivers back at the sport’s highest level, saying: "This is just fantastic news for the sport in the UK and, in particular Wales. We were thrilled when Citroen signed Kris and now we are further excited that M-Sport has given Elfyn this equally fabulous opportunity. To have a Welsh driver competing at the forefront of the World Championship is a great reward for the Welsh Government, which has been a great supporter of our sport for more than a decade.

"The timing couldn’t be much better either, coming so soon after the huge success of last month’s revitalised Wales Rally GB. The move to a new base in north Wales saw the reintroduction of some classic forest stages and a huge leap in spectator numbers – the only ingredient missing was a British driver in contention for victory. Now, with Kris and Elfyn both in major teams, we have two potential British winners."
Evans is widely hailed as one of the sport’s brightest up-and-coming talents. The baby-faced 24-year-old – son of 1996 British Rally Champion and rally stalwart, Gwyndaf Evans – won the WRC Academy in 2012 and last year impressed in the WRC2 category, notably when taking top class honours on Wales Rally GB on his home soil.
Now the youngster and his co-driver Daniel Barritt graduate to one of two officially entered M-Sport Fiesta RS WRCs as team-mates to multiple WRC winner Mikko Hirvonen, who is due a better year and is sure to come out fighting, especially after his muddy, unceremonious roll in Wales!
"It is an absolutely fantastic feeling to know that I will be driving a world rally car for a full season next year!" admitted a delighted Evans. "For Dan and I it is great to be able to take the next step in our careers. The whole team is behind us and we have a long-term plan to get to where we all, ultimately, want to be. This is just the first step and I am extremely grateful to M-Sport for this opportunity and their belief in my future."

Roll on 2014! It's going to be so good to see two such talented, different British rally drivers at the top of the sport again, winning stages, rallies, even WRC titles… just like the good old Burns-McRae era, only different, as it's now Irishman Vs Welshman, not Scot Vs Englishman. I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere… 

We wish (the experienced, yet untested properly in WRC) Kris and (the WRC2 master and young gun) Elfyn all the best and you can follow their news here, on Facebook and Twitter with Road Magazine… British rally fans to the core! 

Read our latest Rally GB special FREE here.

NEWS: Hyundai Motorsport i20 WRC 2014 Line-up

Hyundai Motorsport has unveiled its full team line-up at a special launch event in Frankfurt today – readying for its debut in the 2014 FIA World Rally Championship at Monte Carlo next month.
Thierry Neuville made his first public appearance in Hyundai Motorsport colours as the team’s lead driver, while testing ace Juho Hänninen – who will drive the second i20 WRC at selected events – was also present. It was also announced that both Dani Sordo and Chris Atkinson will partner Neuville at several events during the season, with Sordo running on Rallye Monte-Carlo and Atkinson confirmed for Rally Australia. Quite a cool, youthful, talented line-up eh?

Hyundai Motorsport says they have "set realistic targets for its debut season with the primary objective of finishing each rally event with two cars. The young team will approach each rally with the goal of accumulating vital knowledge and data in order to strengthen its foundations for subsequent years. Going up against vastly more experienced WRC competitors, the team knows that it has a steep learning curve, but it certainly relishes the challenge and will be aiming to compete for podium places during the season."

“We have worked tremendously hard to get where we are today and to be able to launch our new WRC team to the world,” explains Team Principal of Hyundai Motorsport GmbH, Michel Nandan. “In less than one year, we have built and tested a brand new WRC-specification car, the Hyundai i20 WRC, and established a professional team and modern motorsport facility. It’s a huge accomplishment but we know that we have a lot to learn in our first season. Our aims for 2014 are realistic: we want to finish each rally with both cars and build up a database of information and experience so we can develop ourselves into prospective rally winners in the future. If all goes well, we will hope to be competing for occasional podiums as the year progresses.”
The launch event was held at the home of Hyundai Motor Europe in Offenbach, just a short drive from Hyundai Motorsport’s facility in Alzenau, where final preparations are taking place for the team’s rally debut in just over one month. Over 150 journalists and guests attended the event to see the newly liveried Hyundai i20 WRC and team on display.
The complete line-up for 2014 includes a new title partner, Shell, which will see the team named Hyundai Shell World Rally Team. The multi-year partnership will see Shell Helix-Ultra logos adorn the Hyundai i20 WRC at all WRC events.
“Shell is delighted to be returning to the WRC in 2014 with Hyundai,” said Colin Abraham, Shell Vice President Marketing (Fuels and Lubricants). “Shell and Hyundai have worked closely together to deliver a high quality product to customers around the world for more than eight years. We bring a genuine understanding of each other’s strengths to this exciting new team as the Hyundai i20 WRC prepares for its first competitive season.”
“I am really excited at the prospect of helping Hyundai Motorsport to integrate itself into the tough WRC environment,” said Neuville. “It is an honour to be representing a manufacturer like Hyundai Motor Company but also to have the extra responsibility of leading the team in our first season. I am looking forward to Monte Carlo. I can already feel the professionalism, motivation and passion of this team so although it will be a steep learning curve, I am sure it will be a positive one.”
Hänninen said: “I respect the opportunity that I have been given to join Hyundai Motorsport in its debut WRC season. I was the first to drive the Hyundai i20 WRC back in May so I feel really close to the project and have a great relationship with the team. I am looking forward to competing in Rally Sweden and continuing our learning curve.”
Sordo commented: “I am very happy to be part of this exciting Hyundai WRC project. It might be a young team but there is a high level of experience and professionalism that makes the team a really appealing package. I am looking forward to bringing my years of WRC experience to the team in its debut season and to take part in Rallye Monte-Carlo, the first event.”
“It’s been a pleasure to be part of Hyundai Motorsport in testing this season and to have had the chance to contribute to the development of the i20 WRC,”said Atkinson. “It’s fantastic to be able to carry on with the team into 2014, our first WRC season, and to be able to drive in Rally Australia later in the year.”
Hyundai Motor Company also used the occasion of its WRC launch to announce that Hyundai “N” will be used to symbolise Hyundai’s high performance technology on both the i20 WRC car and future mass-produced high performance cars. Linked directly to the company’s renewed involvement in WRC, “N” brings together Hyundai Motor’s technology and innovation with the learning from motorsport to provide a new experience for customers.
Representing the company’s passion for high performance, “N” takes inspiration in both name and spirit from the Namyang R&D Centre that has collaborated with Hyundai Motorsport on the development of the i20 WRC. The Namyang R&D Centre is at the heart of the technological innovation and development that serves as the driving force behind Hyundai’s growth as a global brand.
The Hyundai WRC team has come a long way since the first iteration of the i20 WRC car made an appearance at the Paris Motor Show in September 2012. Hyundai Motorsport has developed from scratch into a fully functioning motorsport team, defying the odds to build, test and prepare two rally cars ready to compete in 2014.
With more than 90 staff from 18 nationalities, made up of motorsport specialists and experienced Hyundai personnel, the team represents the perfect mix of Hyundai and motorsport ideals.

In just over one month’s time, Hyundai Motorsport is set to add a new dimension to the FIA World Rally Championship by competing in its debut event of 2014. The company has already shown what can be accomplished in a short space of time with the right mentality and approach. For the Hyundai Shell World Rally Team, January cannot come soon enough.

VIDEO: VW Polo R, Ogier, Ingrassia & Volkswagen Motorsport Make WRC History

Bobble hats off to VW. With the indispensable help of WRC-God, Carols Sainz, the team has done the unthinkable/unbelievable/unrepeatable – winning the WRC drivers (Seabastian Ogier), co-drivers (Julien Ingrassia) and manufacturers (VW Motorsport) championships, by a country mile in Rally Spain last weekend. And what a great event the WRC's only mixed surface (fast, wide, slippery tarmac and loose gravel) event turned out to be – opening with night stages, huge crowds, a roundabout donut section of one stage and some fabulous driving through the dust. In the end, Yari-Matti had no luck (but more than Dani Sordo & Andreas Mikkelsen) and Ogier had it all. Enjoy the round-up video. Putting VW's inaugural WRC season into perspective for a moment... no one in the 40 year history of WRC has ever accomplished such highs or dominance on all surfaces, or is likely to again. For what it's worth, Road salutes your unreal achievement Team VW – and with a car that looked, sounded and obviously went a load better than the competition too. Bravo! And now the 2013 WRC titles are neatly wrapped up, Wales Rally GB will be a gloves-off, no-holes-barred, maximum attack, guts and glory war. Can't wait! Bring it on!