Hyundai Motor Company Wins 2020 WRC Season Opener Monte Carlo Rally

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] Hyundai Motor Company won the first event of the 2020 World Rally Championship (WRC), the Monte Carlo Rally.

Hyundai announced on the 27th that it secured both the driver category victory and the manufacturer category lead at the Monte Carlo Rally, the first event of the 2020 World Rally Championship (WRC) season, held in Monaco from the 23rd to the 26th (local time).

The Hyundai World Rally Team participated in this race with three drivers: Thierry Neuville, S?bastien Loeb, and Ott T?nak, driving the i20 Coupe WRC race car. Neuville had a strong start by finishing the first day of the rally on the 23rd in first place, but after the races on the 24th and 25th, he dropped to third place, showing somewhat unstable performance.

However, on the final day of the rally, the 26th, Neuville delivered an overwhelming drive to climb back up the rankings and clinched the Monte Carlo Rally victory with a 12.6-second lead over Toyota team’s S?bastien Ogier, who finished second. Neuville earned 25 points for the win plus an additional 5 bonus points from the final power stage, totaling 30 points, putting him 8 points ahead of Ogier, who earned 22 points. This victory marked the 15th win for the Hyundai team overall.

The winning driver Neuville said, "I am very happy to start the season with the team’s first win in Monte Carlo," adding, "Trusting the perfectly performing race car built by the team members and pushing boldly resulted in winning the most challenging race."

At the opening round of the 2020 WRC Monte Carlo Rally held on the 26th, Hyundai Motor World Rally Team's Thierry Neuville (far back, center right) and co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul (far back, center left) are seen holding the winner's trophy during the ceremony. Photo by Hyundai Motor Company

Team teammate Loeb also contributed manufacturer points by finishing 6th with a stable drive. As a result, the Hyundai World Rally Team leads both the driver and manufacturer categories with a total of 35 points, 2 points ahead of the Toyota team, showing prospects for an overall victory this year. Last year, Hyundai won the manufacturer category overall, but in the driver category, Toyota’s T?nak was the champion and Neuville was second.

T?nak, who transferred from Toyota to Hyundai this year, experienced a harrowing accident on the 24th when he left the course at speeds exceeding 180 km/h and plunged down a slope. Despite the vehicle rolling multiple times on its side in a major crash, thanks to the sturdy body of the i20 Coupe WRC race car, he fortunately escaped without injury.

Hyundai achieved victory in the Monte Carlo Rally, the first race of the WRC season held annually, on their seventh attempt. The Monte Carlo Rally is notorious for its course that repeatedly alternates between snowy roads, icy surfaces, and dry pavement, making it difficult to win without perfect performance from both the race car and the driver.

The WRC is a global automobile racing competition organized by the F?d?ration Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and is considered one of the two major international automobile racing series alongside Formula One (F1). While F1 races on cleanly paved circuits, WRC races use race cars based on production vehicles to compete on unpaved roads, paved roads, and snowy conditions, making it famous as the most grueling motorsport competition.

This year, the WRC will be held across 13 countries on 6 continents, with an average race distance of 300 km per event (including an average of 1300 km of liaison sections). Starting this year, new events in Kenya (June), New Zealand (September), and Japan (November) have been added, promising even fiercer competition on new courses.