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Hyundai begins Monte-Carlo testing
Hyundai drivers Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo began preparations for 2015’s season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo (22 - 25 January) with a four-day asphalt test in the Ardèche region of France this week.
Mixed weather, typical of the conditions likely on the rally, greeted Neuville, who tested the i20 on Monday and Tuesday, and Sordo, who drove for the final two days.
Next year’s car will not be ready for the season start, but the 2014 version has been substantially developed since its brief debut in Monte-Carlo last January.
Team principal Michel Nandan said the test helped the team understand how the updated i20 handled on the Alpine roads, and would be followed by four days’ work in Sweden later this month in preparation for the second round there.
“Although we have a full year of experience under our belts since we started our first event, we have to keep on working to prepare for the first rallies of the 2015 calendar.
“We are continuing to evolve the Hyundai i20 WRC so these tests allow us to get final pieces of information for us to fine tune the cars for the first rounds of the new season,” said Nandan.
Neuville was pleased with his work. “I’ve had a good feeling from the car and we have been moving forward, step by step and getting quicker. It’s important for us to start as early as we can for the first rallies of 2015,” he said.
Both drivers will complete a final Monte-Carlo test in early January to hone their set-up.
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