After a successful tarmac test at the end of last month near Turin, the New Generation i20 R5’s test campaign continued last week. Hyundai Motorsport’s Customer Racing department test team completed five days of testing in Sardinia, split between tarmac and gravel surfaces.
Following the conclusion of running in the Piedmont mountains in mid-April both the New Generation i20 R5 and the test team travelled directly to Sardinia. The gruelling schedule dictated for two days on tarmac before three days on gravel on rough gravel roads. Lead test driver Kevin Abbring and his co-driver Seb Marshall tested new suspension parts for the car’s gravel package, developed using Hyundai Motorsport’s knowledge of the island’s WRC stages.
While the development work continues on a variety of surfaces and stages the project entered a new phase at the team’s base, with the preparation of a second chassis as momentum builds towards the New Generation i20 R5’s planned homologation date in the summer.
Established in September last year, Hyundai Motorsport’s Customer Racing department is run from the company’s headquarters in Alzenau, Germany alongside the manufacturer’s WRC team.
The New Generation i20 R5 is based on the same five-door road car as the team’s WRC challenger, which claimed a first victory at Rally Argentina. The R5 is powered by a 1.6 direct injection turbo engine fitted a 32mm restrictor and attached to a five-speed sequential gearbox as demanded by the regulations for the category.
