The return of 2C Competition to the world stage with Hyundai

There are trucks whose presence is a pleasure to see in the service park. This is the case for those of 2C Compétition. Present with Pierre-Louis Loubet during his WRC2 world champion title in 2019, the rest was more complicated with participations in an i20 WRC in 2020 and 2021. These two seasons are now forgotten and the structure is fully dedicated to the project which motivates its commitment to Sweden.

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« I really wanted to be able to come back to the world, explains the French team manager, Florent Peronnet. We had a taste of unfinished business at this level which, in my opinion, remains a competition in which we have more of a place in terms of structure than in national championships. We prefer to have big competitions. We are more prepared for this. I've been working on this since last summer and I'm very happy that it came to fruition. It’s a challenge, but it’s interesting. »

Florent Peronnet est satisfait de faire son retour dans le championnat du monde à travers un programme en WRC2 avec Hyundai (Photo: Loïc Rocci)

Last year, it was the Estonian Red Gray team of Markko Märtin and Ott Tänak which was racing the i20 Rally2s, but the departure of the 2019 world champion to Ford changed the situation. “ This was independent of our discussions with Hyundai, specifies Peronnet. They were happy with what we had achieved when we took care of the WRC in 2020 and 2021 in particular with Oliver Solberg and they wanted to work with us again.

When we see the number of Skoda Fabias at the start, it is a nice challenge to take on with a high-performance car that we have been using for a year. We are receiving support from Hyundai and there is a development program planned. We therefore have all the weapons to do well. During Monte-Carlo, we were able to observe that the car has potential with Pépé Lopez who achieved a good result even though he did not know the event that much. »

Two cars will be fielded by the 2C Compétition team in 2023. “ Teemu Suninen will clearly be there to aim for victory, specifies Peronnet. It's not yet 100% sure, but his program should take him to Croatia, then to Portugal and Sardinia. Even if our goal is to stay in the countries where the competition is the highest, we are also considering a move overseas. For his part, Fabrizio Zaldivar, who already showed progress last year, will seek to increase his experience. He is motivated and we will do everything to help him improve. »

Two cars will be fielded in WRC2 this season for Teemu Suninen and Fabrizo Zaldivar (Photo: Loïc Rocci)

As for whether this return to the world championship via WRC2 is a first step before returning to the premier category, Florent Peronnet remains cautious. “ We have gained a phenomenal foothold in the WRC, he explains, but we are unable to compete with the factories. If there was a reaction to try to encourage private teams to engage at the highest level and where we would therefore not be alone, that would interest us. Today, that is not the case. Rally2 is clearly the reference category this year. I think we are more in our place there. »