Rally – Mission accomplished for Bouffier and Hyundai in Antibes

Hyundai Motorsport a engagé Bryan Bouffier au 49e Rally of Antibes which offered 212,58km timed in order to collect as much information as possible on the i20 WRC on asphalt surfaces. The Frenchman has thus evolved with settings specific to the WRC which are significantly different compared to the French Championship, the priority being to work on the brakes, transmission and engine maps. “We did a good job this weekend. The priority with Hyundai Motorsport was to provide as much information as possible to the team in order to facilitate the development of the Hyundai i20 WRC on asphalt. The Antibes Rally was the perfect event for these tests as it offers a mix of fast and technical roads. »

This full-scale testing session still ended in a victory for Bryan Bouffier even though Julien Maurin was well on his way to winning before falling back to second position after being trapped by a storm. “I’m really happy to win the Antibes Rally. We weren't aiming for a result this weekend but we constantly tried to stay on a good pace. We had a good feeling in the car during the last stage. We were able to attack a little more and finally get the victory. It was nice to get back behind the wheel of the Hyundai i20 WRC after several months. I could feel a big difference compared to the version I drove last November. »

Team Principal Michel Nandan is also satisfied with the work accomplished this weekend in preparation for the Rally Germany (August 22 to 24) and the Rallye France-Alsace (October 3 to 5). “It was a positive weekend. We were able to drive the Hyundai i20 WRC quite a bit on asphalt and gain important experience with the test team working in rally conditions. We came here with a goal that we achieved. We tested different solutions and several elements that we had to test before our first asphalt event at Rally Germany in August. We weren't really interested in the results but it was still a competition and Bryan showed good pace this weekend with promising times. The weather was good for us and the good tire choices allowed Bryan to take first place. It’s good to win our first event, even if it wasn’t our priority, and it’s a great reward for the team’s work. »

Click on this link to see the summary of the 49th edition of the Antibes Rally.

Discover the report of the 49th Antibes Rally in issue 1963 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.