A full-scale test session for Hyundai in Rome

Le Rally of Rome Capital marked the great resumption of rally international as part of the European Rally Championship ERC, with the success yesterday of the Russian Alexey Lukyanuk (Citroen C3 R5).

A test where Hyundai Motorsport, with the i20 Coupe WRC de Dani Sordo and Pierre-Louis Loubet (with the car operated by 2C Compétition), and M-Sport with the Ford Fiesta WRC of “Pedro” were there, in a reserved classification called Rally Stars.

If the Spaniard Sordo won for honor in front of Loubet, the main thing was elsewhere for the Korean clan. “It was fantastic to be back behind the wheel of the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, comments the former Citroën driver. It’s been a very long and difficult year so far, so having the opportunity to return to rallying is something we all appreciate.

We took advantage of this rally to test many parts on the car. We had a throttle problem during SS3 on Saturday, which cost us about 25 seconds resetting everything, but that's part of why we came here: to learn. »

“I am very happy with what I saw here in Rome this weekend, especially from Loubet, who has gained a lot of experience, driving with consistency, admits Andrea Adamo, Team Principal of Hyundai Motorsport. I am proud of him and his team, who demonstrated their professionalism. Dani, as always, did a great job. »

Loubet was indeed able to discover, in a competitive setting, the car with which he will compete in four rounds out of the five remaining on the WRC calendar. “We still have to drive and learn to be able to follow Dani even more closely, but we and Vincent Landais are happy with our pace with the i20 this weekend, comments the Corsican.

Even more so on asphalt, a surface where we have only done one rally since 2018. We will be able to continue the work next week in Alba. While waiting to find my favorite surface, the earth. »

Discover the full report of the ERC Rally di Roma Capitale, produced by our special correspondent in Italy, in AUTO issue 2271hebdo, available this evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.