The tranquility of the alpine roads of Piedmont has been interrupted by the roar of the Hyundai i20 of the 2022 World Cup. The Korean brand’s team is developing a three-day race simulation with the new hybrid mechanics that will compete from next season. Its three drivers, Ott Tanak, Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo devour kilometers to arrive the best prepared for the Monte Carlo Rally at the end of January.
Various stages of the Rally di Alba, service stops, tire change areas … Alzenau’s team has not seen the means to recreate a three-day rally. They are even testing the electrical system in the links between section and section when passing through towns. And is that the hybrid era is just around the corner, less than three months before the start of the season, and time is short.
Tanak was in charge of driving the first day, Neuville has done it the second and Sordo will be in charge of closing this rally drill the third and last. A vitally important test to verify everything and find out on the ground the news that the new era of the specialty is going to bring, the hybrid era. And, according to the team members, as the test progresses, the happier they are because the car improves day by day and everyone, drivers, co-drivers, engineers or mechanics, is becoming familiar with that new element that enters the competition: the electricity.
But let no one think that the new regulations will be detrimental to the show. Despite the complaints of some pilots, the one that more Neuville, the new cars will have more power with the contribution of batteries (above 500 horsepower) and, most importantly, it will serve to give continuity to the specialty. The incorporation of hybrid vehicles was a requirement of the three brands, Hyundai, Toyota and Ford, to continue, and should be the hitch flag for the arrival of new manufacturers to the World Rally Championship.