WRC Update: New Generation i20 R5 set for WRC2 debut
Our New Generation i20 R5 will make its first WRC2 start at Tour de Corse – Rallye de France, which takes place from 29 September-October 2, subject to a timely completion of the homologation process. Three of the brand new machines are set to line up for the event, the tenth round of the WRC season. Among the trio of New Generation i20 R5 cars that will take the ceremonial start in Ajaccio will be entries from the first two customer teams to take delivery from Hyundai Motorsport.
The two crews who will drive the cars show the broad appeal of the R5 class and the New Generation i20 R5. Stéphane Sarrazin and Jacques-Julien Renucci are past winners of the rally, but the weekend will mark their first appearance in the WRC service park this season. The experienced Sarrazin, currently a regular driver in FIA World Endurance Championship and Formula E, captured ninth overall on the event last season, competing in WRC-spec machinery.
Aboard the other customer teams’ New Generation i20 R5 will be Fabio Andolfi and co-driver Manuel Fenoli. Tour de Corse – Rallye de France will be a first start in an R5 for the Italian pairing. They will compete in an entry run by HMI and ACI Team Italia, supported by ACI Sport, the national motorsport body in their home country. Currently in the middle of a second season contesting the WRC3 championship 23-year-old Andolfi lies fourth in the points’ standings, having taken victory on the neighboring island of Sardinia in June.