Hyundai, who are entering the WRC at the beginning of 2014 has had a “positive test” of the latest specification of the i20 WRC.

The car used has been developed at Hyundai Motorsport’s new Alzenau facility from the original design by the Hyundai the Namyang R&D centre in South Korea.

It was first given a shakedown 2 weeks ago at a private test facility before last week’s first full testing session over 550km, designed to get feedback on set-ups and engine.

Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Michel Nandan is quoted:

“We have an intensive testing schedule for the rest of 2013 which will take us to different venues across Europe, to evaluate the i20 WRC in different conditions and on different terrains which reflect the variety of circumstances we will encounter in the World Rally Championship next year. We are not disclosing our specific test venues or the names of the various drivers we will have but we will ensure that every aspect of the car’s performance is put to the test and thoroughly evaluated without leaving anything to chance.”

Michel Nandan is the team principal at Hyundai Motorsport. The team has issued this Q&A:

Michel, the last couple of weeks were pretty busy for the team at Hyundai Motorsport. Can you tell us a bit more about it?

“Indeed, it has been a busy few months here at Hyundai Motorsport as we prepared to kick-off our testing programme to get ready for the 2014 FIA World Rally Championship. After starting our operations from scratch at the Alzenau factory in early January, we have been developing the car and now we can put the theory into practice. The car is on the road and I have to admit it was quite an emotional moment to see the latest specification of the i20 WRC in action for the first time.

The car we are currently testing was originally designed by our colleagues in Korea at the Namyang R&D Centre. It has then been developed and prepared in Alzenau by the team which is growing constantly day-by-day.”

What are your thoughts on the first two outings of the i20 WRC on the road?

“The learning from the first tests for me is quite positive. I think we are starting from a good base that we can use to carry on working. This was crucial considering the tight schedule we have until the end of the year. We have now a lot of useful feedback to digest for the next steps of our preparation.

On the human side of things, I have already seen great teamwork, from the engineers in Namyang and the growing team of people in Alzenau. I have to say I’m very proud of everyone and I should thank them for the good job they have been doing so far. We have a lot of work ahead of us but I’m sure that with the commitment everybody showed so far we will respect all the timings and objectives we have for this year.”

What are the next steps in the testing programme?

“We have an intensive testing schedule for the rest of 2013 which will take us to different venues across Europe, to evaluate the i20 WRC in different conditions and on different terrains which reflect the variety of circumstances we will encounter in the World Rally Championship next year.”

“We are not disclosing our specific test venues or the names of the various drivers we will have but we will ensure that every aspect of the car’s performance is put to the test and thoroughly evaluated without leaving anything to chance.”