Hyundai Motorsport continues to define its line ups with which it will take part in the next rounds of the WRC 2023. This morning the team directed by Cyril Abiteboul announced the names of the three crews that will be deployed at the Safari Rally, which will be held in Kenya in a month’s time .
As usual, there is no news regarding the first two crews, those called to do the whole season at the wheel of the i20 N Rally1.
Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe will be regulars in the number 11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 with the specific intention of recovering precious points in the fight for the Drivers’ championship title after having lost them in Croatia due to an accident and in Portugal due to a turbo failure on the last day, while occupied the third position.
Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm will be on the second i20 N Rally1, the one that will bear the number 4 on the sides and windows. The Finnish crew is back from two consecutive podiums obtained in Croatia and Portugal, but wants to continue its ascent after increasing his confidence with the Korean car.
Dani Sordo, Candido Carrera, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images
The third i20 N Rally1 will have the number 6, so Dani Sordo and Candido Carrera will take it to the race. The Spanish crew are, at least at the time of writing, the only i20 owners remaining after the tragic death of Craig Breen on April 13 during a pre-event test near Lobor, Croatia.
Dani Sordo repeated that he doesn’t want to play the whole season, although now he doesn’t have any teammates to share the car with. But Hyundai Motorsport is still looking for the driver to replace Breen this season, so Sordo will return to the Safari Rally 2 years after the last time.
The Torrelavega native had previously raced in Kenya in 2021, taking home a 12th place overall. Now he will have to continue along the lines of what he managed to do in Portugal, a rally in which he managed to bring home a valuable second place.
Meanwhile, according to Motorsport.com, Hyundai is working to choose the name of the driver who will take the place of Breen. As Abiteboul said a few days ago, Hyundai will try to invest not only in the present but also in the future. That’s why the eyes of the Korean company would have rested on Emil Lindholm, reigning WRC2 champion and current TokSport Skoda team driver.
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