Hyundai halts its Monte Carlo tests… because of the snow!

An unusual event occurred this Thursday, January 08th. During a practice session for the Rally Monte Carlo, Hyundai was forced to end his day… due to excessive snowfall, which was surprising at first glance. This test session was taking place in the Hautes-Alpes department where Thierry Neuville was driving the Hyundai i20N Rally1. Yesterday, the 2024 World Rally Champion was driving the Hyundai Rally2 and was therefore due to complete his first laps of the year today in his usual car since Adrien fourmaux He was driving the Rally2. But, clearly, the conditions were not suitable to follow the day's schedule and that is why the day ended earlier than planned.

Thierry Neuville explains this choice

The driver clarified the situation on his social media: “One might think that the winter conditions encountered today are optimal for Monte Carlo, as these are the conditions we could have for the rally. However, it has been a long time since we have experienced such conditions at Monte Carlo… We therefore believe that these are not the optimal conditions for us today, nor those we were initially seeking,” he explained. The Belgian driver also confirmed on his social media that the FIA ​​had authorized Hyundai to reschedule these tests, which should now take place on Sunday.

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The trials have officially begun.

Hyundai isn't the only team to have used the last few days to prepare for the start of its season. Also in the French Alps, Toyota has been hard at work since the beginning of the week, with Elfyn Evans driving the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 on Tuesday and Oliver Solberg yesterday. But today, Sébastien Ogier was also affected by the same problem as Neuville and was also forced to stop his tests due to the snow. This Friday, it should be Takamoto Katsuta's turn to take the wheel of the Japanese car. As for M-SportFor now, the tests have taken place near the team's facilities, at the team's test base, as revealed by Josh McErlean and Jon Armstrong through a few posts on their respective social networks.