Cyril Abiteboul on the arrival of Genesis in Endurance: “A real alignment of the planets”

Your arrival at the head of Hyundai Motorsport, early in 2023, gave rise to much speculation, including that you had accepted the position because the project Endurance was going to happen. However, after rewinding the thread of history during this event, we understand that this was absolutely not the case!

It was not actually on the agenda. Hyundai and I started talking around the time of the reveal of the hydrogen-powered N Vision 74 and Ioniq 6 N prototypes (July 2022. Ed.), which demonstrated an ambition for very high performance which, at a given moment, would exceed that of the only rally. Not that I didn't want to do rallying, but rather to reassure myself, because this territory was totally unknown to me. I hesitated a lot, and what made me decide was the depth of the Hyundai group. This actor, the 3^e global and with a gigantic galaxy of companies, was bound to do something else. It turns out that I was not wrong, even if rallying remains exciting and I even discovered a real passion for this sport.

Were there any doubts about the Hypercar project? It has been talked about for years, even though it was only validated on the 1^er September 2024…

Absolutely. There were several iterations before I arrived, including a file carried by Andrea Adamo (Hyundai Motorsport Director from 2019 to 2021. Ed.). The main difference between the previous attempts and this one lies in a real alignment of the planets. Endurance is in an ultra dynamic phase with a large number of manufacturers involved – it is always easier to join a sport that is doing well than a faltering one – and we too are finally ready. The Genesis brand and strategy are in place, there are new people involved – I am thinking of Luc Donckerwolke but also of me who has a more reassuring speech than that of my predecessors – so the attempt today is the right one… even if there is still a lot to do in the next fifteen months.

You don't have the gift of ubiquity, so how will you divide your time between Endurance, WRC and all your other obligations?

This seems extremely clear to me. I have a role as president of the entire Motorsport entity that does not require me to be team principal of all the competitions, a very operational mission that requires being with the team at all the races, at the factory, etc., and it is clearly impossible for me to do it. I will have to "grow" by taking more distance from the operational side, because I do not know how to do competition in any other way than by being very much in the detail and the action. We are going to deploy an entire organization below me. I reassure you: it is possible! (Laughs)

There is of course the refrain "what will become of the WRC?". We have heard talk of an upcoming move, with a departure from Alzenau to Frankfurt?

We announced a model change on customer competition with outsourcing of car assembly. We will refocus our operations on factory projects, so our base in Alzenau was no longer suitable and too big. I want to pivot our organization to something tighter, more agile and centered around engineering and technology. This will be necessary for LMDh and perhaps other programs we are working on. We have found new premises near the headquarters of Genesis and Hyundai (in Frankfurt. Ed.) This movement will take place on the 2^e and 3^e quarters 2025, in addition to setting up our Endurance workshop at Paul-Ricard. My vision is that of a Hub in Frankfurt and several satellites with partners such as BRC for the TCR, Sports & You for Rally2, Oreca for the Hypercar chassis, IDEC for training, etc. We must be humble in saying that we cannot do everything ourselves and that we must surround ourselves with people with the expertise for this transition stage with a view to the next one which is already in our heads. There is a five-year plan with a target and the path to reach it.

What about hydrogen in this strategy and this target, Hyundai being at the forefront of this technology?

We see hydrogen as an additional element in favour of Endurance, but we are not going there for that reason. For the moment, we have an approach of providing technical solutions for customers rather than acting on our behalf, the time to understand how hydrogen can have a role in the entire motorsport panorama. The timetable is slippery, but it will come.

Interview by Romain Bernard

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