Hyundai WRC team pleased with Andres Mikkelsen's test performance



Hyundai Motorsport team manager Alain Penasse described Andreas Mikkelsen's first test of its i20 Coupe World Rally Car in Portugal on Friday as a positive experience for both parties.

Mikkelsen enjoyed a trouble-free day in the car, despite reports that he went off the road briefly, and Penasse said Hyundai was pleased with his feedback.

"The test seemed to be quite good," Penasse told Autosport.

"Andreas gave good feedback, he was happy with the car and impressed with some things. It was a good co-operation."

Mikkelsen drove the car after current drivers Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo had completed a single day of running each.

"We had a three-day test in Portugal, Hayden [Paddon] was in New Zealand and we didn't want to put Kevin [Abbring] in the car, so Andreas made sense," said Penasse.

"I don't know how many kilometres he did in total, but I know he ran until five o'clock this afternoon."

Asked if Mikkelsen would be back in the car testing for Hyundai again, Penasse replied: "For the moment that is it. For the moment there are no more tests planned."

Mikkelsen was unable to secure a World Rally Car seat for 2017 after his former employer Volkswagen's departure and has begun the year competing in WRC2 with Skoda, winning the class on both his appearances.

He is attempting to conclude a deal to be back in the top class for next month's Rally Portugal.

Asked about the ongoing negotiations with Mikkelsen and his manager Erik Veiby, Penasse replied: "It's normal that we are talking with Andreas when he has nothing to do.

"Erik Veiby is always in the service park and it's nice to catch up with him for a coffee.

"When you sit down and talk, things can come."

Mikkelsen will complete the recce for next week's Rally Argentina before flying home to continue talks about Portugal.

The Norwegian and his management were unavailable for comment on the Hyundai test.

ERC a target for new HOLZER R5 Corsa





A new car built to the FIA European Rally Championship’s headlining R5 regulations has broken cover during a presentation in Portugal today.

Developed by the HOLZER Group, the team behind Opel Motorsport’s hat-trick of ERC Junior titles, the HOLZER R5 Corsa will battle against rival machines such as the Citroën DS3 R5, Ford Fiesta R5, Hyundai i20 R5, Peugeot 208 T16 and ŠKODA Fabia R5 – once it is homologated for competition use, a process that requires manufacturer assistance.

“We believe in R5 as a very competitive and interesting rally category,” said Günther Holzer, CEO of the HOLZER Group. “The technology is affordable, so we decided to start a project to build the HOLZER R5 Corsa. I have to emphasise that this is a fully private initiative. Now we are looking forward to the feedback of the rally community.”

The HOLZER Group, established by brothers and former rally competitors Ronald and Günther Holzer, has a long association with Opel in both circuit racing and rallying. It is running Jari Huttunen, Chris Ingram and Tamara Molinaro in the FIA ERC Junior Under 27 Championship in 2017, as well as the hugely successful ADAC Opel Rallye Cup one-make series in Germany, which has produced several top drivers including ERC podium finisher Marijan Griebel and former ERC Junior champion Emil Bergkvist.

Once the HOLZER R5 Corsa is homologated for competition use, the expectation is it will be rallied in a number of national and international championships, including the European and world championships.