Hyundai to return to the top in Croatia? / WRC

As the first asphalt event of the year, Croatia gives the team the opportunity to compare the performance of the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid with that of its competitors. Andreas Mikkelsen and Torstein Eriksen return to their first event since the Monte-Carlo Rally with team-mates Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe and Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja.

After a weekend in Kenya, Hyundai Motorsport is keen to return to Rally Croatia (April 18-21), the fourth round of the 2024 World Rally Championship (WRC). With a constantly changing surface and a variety of features not normally found on a tarmac, Croatia presents a unique challenge to crews, jumps and blind curves must be negotiated precisely, while the seemingly… can go from slippery to break without warning, increasing the risk. In recent years, bad weather has also played a role, turning the roads from unpredictable to treacherous. The event often gets heavy rain, which can turn the order upside down at any time.

Three crews will represent the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Team in Rally Croatia: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe and Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja will compete alongside two returning Norwegians Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen. Pairs of Belgian and Estonian teams have already enjoyed success at the event, each achieving two podium finishes on the roads of Croatia.

However, Neuville and Wydaeghe’s main goal will be to further extend their lead in the driver and co-driver standings. Despite finishing fifth overall in the previous round in Kenya, they were second in points in the championship and used the new Super Sunday points system and Power Stage bonuses to extend their lead at the top of the standings to six points.

Rally Croatia marks one year since the tragic death of Hyundai Motorsport driver, friend and colleague Craig Breen, who lost his life during testing for the 2023 edition of the event. This year the team will honor him by decorating the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid with the Irish flag on the roof and bumper and donating items to an auction in his name. All proceeds go to the Craig Breen Foundation. The auction will be live from April 16, 09:00 (CEST) to April 23, 21:00 (CEST) and can be accessed via the following link: https://app.galabid.com/cbf24/items.

Cyril Abiteboul, President and Head of the Hyundai Motorsport Team, said: “Croatia Rally is the first asphalt event of the year, but after the intense Rally Monte-Carlo we have already tasted how the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid. will do here it can. We have seen success here in the past. We know that Thierry and Ott can put the car on the podium in Croatia and with Andreas’ skill on the track we believe he can also get good points next week. After losing Craig a year ago, it is very sad to come to this event, but we want to honor him when we come back and we’ve tried to do this through our charity efforts and by displaying the Irish flag on our car. For both championships and for Craig we want to finish as close to the top as possible – a win would be the perfect end to the weekend.”

Neuville said: “Croatia is one of the best asphalt meetings I’ve ever been involved in. There are a lot of twists, turns and jumps – very unusual for an asphalt event. I like the challenge of Croatia. The profile of dimensions and speed with wide slopes and thin creates a unique test. But during the rain the streets are similar to the streets of Belgium, which creates a certain skill for us. Due to the unpredictability of the weather, the car needs to be set up for both wet and dry conditions – if you set up it’s not right we’re losing confidence. I’d like to be on the podium in Croatia: a top three position is important to maintain the championship lead. Our main goal is to push for a top position.”

Tänak emphasized: “Croatia is an exciting asphalt event. The grip is small and the surface can get quite dirty, but at the same time there are many vertical crests and jumps for confusing turns. Pitches are very rare on our calendar these days, we only have a few meetings a year so they are special. We have already driven the car on the tarmac in Monte-Carlo and I would say the feeling was not bad and at the end of the meeting we were very close. We have to use this experience and get the right balance in the car to increase the grip. If we do that, we should have the package we need for Croatia. We definitely want to do well and we hope that we have a good feeling from the start. We need a smooth event and always fight for victory.”

Mikkelsen said: “After a good start to the season in Monte-Carlo, I have high hopes. It’s good to be back in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid for the WRC round, especially after participating in the Rallye Regione Piemonte. Croatia is a unique challenge, but we have many years of public experience that we can use to make a good decision on stage. Since the trap and the weather are constantly changing, good track marks are important to do well there. It is clear that our road conditions will be bad at the beginning of the weekend, especially during the rain as a lot of mud will be kicked up. Ultimately we aim to finish on the podium, but if the going gets tough we want to finish in the top five.” (Hyundai)