WRC. Rally Croatia: Hyundai wants to regain first place

Hyundai will try to shine from this Friday to Sunday during the Croatian Rally, 4^e the 13th round of the WRC World Championship season, to pay tribute to his former Irish driver Craig Breen, who died last year before this event.

Three weeks after the tough Kenya Rally, the South Korean brand will try in the Balkan countries to maintain the first place in the driver’s standings and regain the leadership from Toyota among the manufacturers of restoring pads to the asphalt.

“Moving” back to the theater streets

For the occasion, a special aircraft storage facility has been created since Hyundai cars will display the Irish flag on their roof, a year after Breen’s death following a collision with a pole during testing a week before the meeting. “Of course it’s emotional coming back to this event after losing Craig a year ago, but we want to give him respect when we come back. For both championships, and for Craig, we want to finish as close to the top as possible – a win would be a great conclusion to this weekend,” French Cyril Abiteboul, director of the South Korean team.

Third in 2021 and 2022, Thierry Neuville, the world championship leader with a sixth length ahead of Briton Elfin Evans (Toyota), will aim for a second victory of the season after the first round in Monte-Carlo. “The Croatian rally is one of the most difficult on the asphalt, there are a lot of blind corners, rocks and jumps, which is not normal on this surface. The weather is unpredictable so you have to have the right settings for dry and wet conditions,” he emphasized. the Belgian driver.

Evans, winner of Croatia in 2023 and chasing his first victory this year, will be Hyundai’s biggest challenger on his favorite surface. “I had a great start to the season, scoring important points in every race. Last year it went well on the track and especially here so I can’t wait to fight,” said the Welshman.

Ogier back, Rovanperä absent

After skipping Sweden and Kenya, the eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier, who worked for the Toyota program, will return to Croatia, where he won in 2021. The Gapençais will want his revenge after being beaten in January in his garden there. Monte-Carlo. “I’m happy to be back competing on the demanding roads. Our starting position is not good so we’ll see what we can do according to the conditions,” pointed out the Frenchman.

Two-time world champion Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota), winner in the Safari Rally but who decided this year to keep it simple in the WRC and only compete in certain events, will however not be there. Another Frenchman, Adrien Fourmaux (M-Sport/Ford), who remains on two podiums in a row, will try to confirm his good start to the season.