Pressemelding: Utvikler og tester for Hyundai

En del av utviklingen var Andreas og Torsteins deltakelse i det italienske Rally Valli della Carnia i helgen. Der kjørte de en Hyundai i20 Rally2 med fullt asfalt-oppsett og selv om en punktering gjorde at de ikke kunne kjempe om seieren, så ble de nummer tre, kun fem sekunder fra seier.
Mikkelsen var svært fornøyd med både bilen og løpet:

-Det er faktisk lenge siden jeg virkelig har likt å kjøre på asfalt, men i helgen var jeg fornøyd. Jeg hadde en god følelse med bilen på de svingete asfaltveiene, sa Andreas Mikkelsen.

Pressemelding fra Hyundai Motorsport:

Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing completes week of i20 N Rally2 testing in Italy

• Andreas Mikkelsen and Torstein Eriksen’s entry in Rally Valli della Carnia completed a week of development testing for the i20 N Rally2 on the roads of north-western Italy
• The week began with Eric Camilli at the wheel of the car, with the focus on new validating new differential options, a short ratio gearbox and updated suspension geometry
• The running continued the latest development of the i20 N Rally2, with ambition to add to the car’s already strong performance and reliability.

Alzenau, Germany

October 3, 2024 – The Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing department completed a week’s worth development testing with the i20 N Rally2 by participating in Rally Valli della Carnia with Andreas Mikkelsen behind the wheel.

The event provided some difficult conditions for running, as the technical mountain roads were often wet, with grip levels constantly changing. Up against a number of local tarmac specialists, Mikkelsen and Torstein Eriksen were fastest on four stages. Despite losing 15 seconds to the leader after suffering a puncture, the Norwegian pair were only five seconds behind the victors at the end of the event, which also served as preparation for their start in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid at next month’s Central European Rally.

The entry in Rally Valli della Carnia concluded a full week of testing, begun by French Tarmac Rally Championship regular Eric Camilli, who took driving duties for the first two days before Mikkelsen completed one day of testing before he and the test team moved bases to the rally’s Villa Santini Service Park for the weekend.

The week offered an opportunity to test many potential developments for the i20 N Rally2, as the Customer Racing department’s engineers focused on perfecting the car’s already strong performance. The mountain roads, representative of many customer teams face in national championship events, were the perfect location to validate new options for the front and rear differential and short ratio gearbox designed to provide greater acceleration on the exit of slow corners.

Updates to the suspension geometry were also a key focus of the weekend, aiming to improve both the handling and performance of the i20 N Rally2. Both Camilli and Mikkelsen declared themselves happy with the changes made, providing a strong baseline for future tests when the department’s engineers will aim to unlock the full potential of the latest development.

Future tests will include runs on high-speed stages, letting engineers and drivers gain experience of the car behaviour in different conditions, creating an all-round strong package of upgrades to be introduced for the start of the 2025 season.

Andreas Mikkelsen said: “My initial feeling at the test with the i20 N Rally2 was really nice. Immediately I felt very comfortable with the car. There’s a big effort going into development, and it’s nice to finish off the week with a rally. We were fighting at the front all the time and finished five second off the win. It’s a shame about the puncture. Without it the win was definitely possible. It’s actually a long time since I really enjoyed driving on tarmac, but this weekend in the i20 N Rally2 it was really fine to drive. The car turns really well, so for these types of very twisty stages it gave me a lot of confidence.”

Hyundai Motorsport Rally2 Project Manager Andrea Cisotti said: “We can be very happy with our development work from the week in Italy. The performance of the i20 N Rally2, and the feedback from Eric Camilli and Andreas Mikkelsen showed the steps forward made with both the new differential ramp options and the short ratio gearbox for the types of high-grip technical stages we ran on in both our testing and the weekend’s rally. In our work with the suspension we have established an excellent baseline, we can take forward in our next tests to develop to its full potential.”