To Hyundai i20 WRC ολοκλήρωσε το πρώτο τεστ δοκιμών του



H Hyundai ανακοίνωσε ότι μόλις ολοκλήρωσε επιτυχημένα το πρώτο χωμάτινο τεστ του i20 WRC.

Γνωρίζουμε ότι το κορεάτικο αυτοκίνητο θα συμμετέχει επίσημα στο θεσμό του παγκοσμίου Πρωταθλήματος Ράλι από την επόμενη χρονιά που ξεκινάει τον Ιανουάριο με τον αγώνα του Μόντε Κάρλο. Οι οδηγοί της ομάδας έγραψαν 550 χλμ με τους μηχανικούς της ομάδας να συλλέγουν και αναλύουν πολύτιμα δεδομένα του αυτοκινήτου και πιο συγκεκριμένα του 1.6-λίτρου turbo κινητήρα του.




Σύμφωνα με τον γενικό διευθυντή της ομάδας, Michel Nandan:

Το πρώτο μας τεστ ήταν αρκετά θετικό. Νομίζω ότι ξεκινάμε από μια καλή βάση που μπορούμε να χρησιμοποιήσουμε και να συνεχίσουμε να δουλεύουμε. Αυτό (το τεστ) ήταν ζωτικής σημασίας λαμβάνοντας υπόψη το αυστηρό χρονοδιάγραμμα που έχουμε μέχρι το τέλος του έτους.



Η Κορεάτικη εταιρία έχει άλλους οχτώ μήνες για να εξελίξει και βελτιώσει τις αδυναμίες του αυτοκινήτου. Είναι αρκετά θετικό να ξανά αρχίσουν να μπαίνουν νέες ομάδες στο θεσμό για να αποκτήσει ξανά την αίγλη και την δυναμική που του αναλογεί.





Διάβασε το πλήρες άρθρο εδώ: To Hyundai i20 WRC ολοκλήρωσε το πρώτο τεστ δοκιμών του - AutoBlog.gr

Rumours about 2014 edition...

As an one-off, the rally will return to the OAKA stadium to help celebrate the 60th running of the event. They're planning a SSS & the ceremonial start at the venue. I believe this would be a way to tackle the amount FIA has asked to pay because he told that they expect to fit the stadium with 63,000 fans charging 15 euros (so they'll earn almost one million). In addition, they want to persuade Mouton to drive an Audi quattro and bring Tommi Mäkinen over.

On the other hand, the organisers have signed a new three-year agreement with the south Peloponnese region to take Acropolis to new stages. They will be back to three full days too.

208 T16: AFTER TESTING IN FRANCE, THE 208 T16'S ASPHALT PROGRAMME TO CONTINUE IN YPRES...



After several tests on gravel, the Peugeot 208 T16 has kicked off the asphalt phase of its development programme. A five-day session in the south of France’s Var region enabled Peugeot Sport to collect a significant amount of data and see that the sealed-surface performance of its new rallying flagship is particularly promising ‘out of the box’.

Maiden asphalt run

The team in charge of the Peugeot 208 T16’s development spent five days (June 3-7) in southern France’s Maures mountains where they put Peugeot Sport’s new R5 challenger through its paces on asphalt for the very first time. Ireland’s Craig Breen and the experienced Italian Paolo Andreucci took turns behind the wheel to validate its basic sealed-surface technical specification.

Both drivers were swift to report the exceptional potential of the Peugeot 208 T16 and confirm that the spearhead of Peugeot Sport’s customer competition programme is a well-sorted machine. Craig Breen and Paolo Andreucci have different driving styles, so their words not only underpinned the versatility of the new Peugeot 208 T16 but also brought Peugeot Sport’s engineers a significant amount of varied information and data.



Next stop: Ypres

Following last week’s fruitful run, the Peugeot 208 T16 will shortly take the start of its first rally as ‘zero’ car at the end of the month in Ypres, home of the next round of the FIA European Rally Championship. Briton Kris Meeke will have the privilege of being the first driver to take part in an actual event, with Chris Patterson sitting alongside as co-driver.

“Nothing can replace actually ‘competing’, but the chief aim of our run in Ypres will be to take our development programme forward and collect more data. Then we will be able to start to think about the final specification of the 208 T16 which is due to be homologated at the end of the year,” says Peugeot Sport Director Bruno Famin. “Thanks to the feedback we received from Craig Breen and Paolo Andreucci, we intend to make a number of modifications which Kris Meeke and our technical squad will follow in Ypres. The objective, of course, will be to get as many kilometres on the car’s clock as possible in ‘real’ rally conditions. The ERC’s promoter and the organisers of the Ypres Rally have kindly provided us with a great opportunity. The event will be the car’s first public appearance on its favourite hunting ground… Like our rivals, we started from a blank sheet of paper after carefully studying the R5 regulations. They meet the demand of drivers and teams alike for a car which delivers higher performance compared to an S2000 but which is also cheaper to buy and run.”

The next step in the promising, if fledgling career of the Peugeot 208 T16 will consequently be Belgium’s Ypres Rally on June 27-29.



Quotes…

Alexis Avril (208 T16 Development Manager): “It was very important to work with drivers with different driving styles and on roads which represented different challenges. Our work focused essentially on the car’s suspension, brakes and differential settings which all need to be specific to asphalt. We were able to try different parts and set-up options. We didn’t come across any major surprises, on the contrary, but there are some areas that will require work in the next few weeks, even though the drivers were globally happy with the new car’s overall package in asphalt trim.”

Craig Breen: “It was very interesting to be the first person to drive the Peugeot 208 T16 on asphalt. It certainly feels competitive. Personally, though, I will need to accustom myself with the turbo which is a big change compared with the Peugeot 207 S2000, especially on asphalt. Everything about the car is new and, the more we work on it, the more we realise how much potential it really has…”

Paolo Andreucci: “This was my first time in the Peugeot 208 T16, and I must say I felt perfectly at home in it at once. The basic car is very good and it responds immediately to set-up modifications. They produce the expected effect and that is the sign of a sound chassis. The test stages were a challenge, especially for the dampers, but it didn’t take long to find an efficient set-up. After testing the 208 T16, I can’t wait to drive it on an actual event!”

Wilson: New R5 a big step forward



Malcolm Wilson believes the new price-capped R5 specification rally car is a big step forward for the sport and could eventually become the top category of vehicle in the World Rally Championship.

Wilson made the comments today as his M-Sport firm unveiled its new Ford Fiesta - the first R5 specification car to be launched.

The car, which costs 180,000 Euros, is expected to be homologated by the FIA on 1 July and will make its WRC competitive debut in Finland with Elfyn Evans at the wheel.

The turbocharged 1600cc four-wheel drive Fiesta R5 will compete in the WRC 2 category, alongside Super 2000 and Regional Rally Car (RRC) machinery.

Before Finland, Thierry Neuville will demonstrate the R5 as a course car at the European championship Ypres Rally in July.

“I really believe it’s a big step for rallying for the future,” Wilson told wrc.com. “I’m so excited about the car and also about the concept going forward, It’s going to provide a lot of performance for a very realistic cost.”

“With the proper driver this car is going to surprise a lot of people. Its going to be quicker everywhere than a Super 2000 car and a lot of places it will be quicker than a regional car.

“Put it this way, I don’t believe there’s ever been a way for a young driver to drive a competitive car for so little money.

“I think that the R5 is a very strong car and has got the potential to become the top model in the future.”

Further R5 models are expected to be homologated this year, with Skoda, Peugeot and Citroen all currently developing cars.



Q&A with Malcolm Wilson

Q: Tell us about the development of the Fiesta R5.

MW: “It was a follow on from Super 2000 – and the fact that prices in that class had gradually crept up. The FIA looked at everything to come up with a sensible formula with a proper, controlled, price. That’s where the R5 concept originated.

“To keep the costs down, the car uses a lot of standard production car components. So, not only did we have to design and develop a new four-wheel drive car, but we also had to work with Ford to identify and evaluate components from other Ford models that would do the job and cope with the rally environment. The radiator on the R5 is from a Ford Edge sold in America, for instance. From beginning to end the process has taken us 12 months.”

Q: How does the price compare to the WRC and RRC versions?

MW: “The base price is 180,000 Euros, which is less than half the price of a WRC car. It’s also much cheaper than an RRC car, which is almost identical to WRC specification. The running costs will be a lot less than any similar four-wheel drive car. There are extras packages available, but they are not things that that are going to increase the car’s performance. They are more about personal choice. The FIA has frozen the price until the end of 2015, so customers know exactly what the costs are going to be."

Q: How does it drive?

MW: “I was amazed. I was impressed when I drove one of the really early ones and I have to say the step up in performance from that one to the finished article is incredible. It’s fun to drive and an easy car to drive. Most people who have gone into a WRC Fiesta can go quickly early on and I think we’ve achieved the same characteristic with this car.”

Q: What has the reaction been from your customers?

MW: “We had a customer day last week and the people who paid deposits had a chance to drive it. They all went away very, very happy. So far we have taken 18 deposits and we plan to have a number of those cars ready for Rally Finland.”


Επόμενος ....

Η VW διατηρεί τον ανταγωνισμό

Η Volkswagen αποφάσισε να "παγώσει" την εξέλιξη του Polo R WRC, προκειμένου να συνεχίσουν να αγωνίζονται η Citroen και κατά κύριο λόγο η M-Sport.



Kαι μόνο από το μέγεθος του χώρου φιλοξενίας της Volkswagen μπορεί να καταλάβει κανείς πως οι Γερμανοί έχουν κάνει μεγάλη επένδυση στο παγκόσμιο πρωτάθλημα ράλι.
Η VW τρέχει για το νταμπλ φέτος στην πρώτη χρονιά της στο WRC, ωστόσο κανένας τίτλος δεν θα έχει αξία αν δεν υπάρχει ανταγωνισμός και από άλλους κατασκευαστές.
Το Autosport φιλοξενεί δηλώσεις του επικεφαλής του αγωνιστικού τμήματος του κολοσσού, Γιοστ Καπίτο
Η VW αποφάσισε να "παγώσει" την εξέλιξη του Polo R WRC, προκειμένου να διευκολύνει τον ανταγωνισμό και τη συμμετοχή στο παγκόσμιο πρωτάθλημα της Citroen που έχει ρίξει τον προϋπολογισμό της και κυρίως της M-Sport που μετά την αποχώρηση της Ford, ουσιαστικά είναι μια ιδιωτική ομάδα.

Το καινούργιο Polo R WRC θα κάνει την εμφάνιση του το 2015 με τον Καπίτο να εξηγεί "συζητήσαμε για το τι είναι καλύτερο για το μέλλον και τι πρέπει να γίνει για να διατηρήσουμε τον υψηλό αριθμό συμμετοχών στο πρωτάθλημα. Συζητώντας, καταλήξαμε πως το καλύτερο είναι να παραμείνουμε με τα αυτοκίνητα που έχουμε φέτος".

Το εγκώμιο του Καπίτο έπλεξε και ο Μάλκολμ Γουίλσον της M-Sport, λέγοντας πως "είμαστε ευγνώμονες για αυτό τόσο εγώ, όσο και ο Ιβ Ματόν (της Citroen). Είναι μια θετική κίνηση. Ξέρουμε πλέον πως μπορούμε να παραμείνουμε ανταγωνιστικοί του χρόνου, δίχως να ξοδέψουμε εκατομμύρια στην εξέλιξη. Θα έπρεπε να εγκαταλείψουμε αν δεν επρόκειτο να επιστρέψει η Ford".
Η FIA επιβεβαίωσε την είδηση. Πλέον αναμένουμε την άφιξη της Hyundai το 2014 με το i20.

ΠΗΓΗ http://www.sport24.gr