Hyundai Motorsports are ready and raring to go for Rally Croatia, round three of the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship season. Thierry Neuville goes into the event in second place in the championship on 32 points.
Speaking ahead of the event the Belgian who scored his first podium finish of the new hybrid era last time out in Sweden commented saying:
Croatia Rally is a very challenging event as the grip is quite low and the profile of the stages is very demanding. There’s lots of blind corners, crests, jumps and cutting, and the roads can be quite dirty as well as being very narrow. Last year we were lucky with the weather and the conditions were quite dry, but it was still quite cold. There are definitely a lot of challenges we are going to face again in potentially tricky conditions, especially with these new cars, but it is a surface I feel very comfortable on. It is a rally I enjoyed a lot last year and I am looking forward to it.
Ott Tanak heads into the Croatia event weekend hoping to score his first podium finish of the season and scored a podium him last season and looking ahead to the event the Estonian commented saying:
Competing at Croatia Rally for the first time last year was a bit more demanding than we expected as the tarmac there is very different – it looks good but the grip is very low. The surface changes and the general characteristics of the roads also make it quite challenging to drive, with lots of crests and jumps that you normally don’t have too much on tarmac. It was a big job to manage in 2021 but we expect it will be a lot more fun this year now that we have experience and know what to expect from the event
Oliver Solberg will compete in his first Rally Croatia event and speaking ahead of the event he said:
Croatia Rally looked like a fantastic event last year. It is very exciting for me to go there for the first time– it’s a beautiful country and I think it will be a fantastic tarmac rally, although I know it is very tricky. The roads don’t have a lot of grip, but personally I like a bit of slippery tarmac, so that makes me happy. My expectations for the event are difficult to set as unlike my team-mates, I haven’t driven there before. For me it will be about getting lots of experience and not as much about pace. We will just drive and have fun and see where we end up.
Hyundai WRC Deputy Team Director Julien Moncet said:
The two-month break since Rally Sweden has been helpful, as it has given us the time to regroup and reset before we begin the next phase of the season, which starts with Croatia Rally. The podium finish we secured with Thierry and Martijn at the previous round was a positive step forward for us as we continue to get to grips with the new hybrid regulations. We are very lucky to have a great team in Alzenau who are working hard to improve our overall package. We want to be consistently competing for podiums and wins throughout the season. Our aim is to continue the momentum of our recent progress and achieve a positive result on the tarmac roads of Croatia.