WRC: Tension before the season opener 🎥
NEW SITUATIONS The start of the World Rally Championship in Monte Carlo will take place under special circumstances. World champion Ott Tänak has switched to Hyundai, while his predecessor Sébastien Ogier takes over at Toyota. The trailer for the 88th Rally Monte Carlo with action scenes from 2019 heightens the excitement ahead of the WRC start. Hyundai Motorsport won the manufacturers' title in 2019. The crown [...]
The trailer for the 88th Rally Monte Carlo with action scenes from 2019 heightens the excitement ahead of the WRC start.
Hyundai Motorsport won the manufacturers' title in 2019. However, the drivers' crown went to Ott Tänak in a Toyota Yaris WRC. Even before the 2019 WRC season ended prematurely due to the fire disaster in Australia, Hyundai announced the signing of the world champion from Estonia last fall.
Star line-up in the team of brand world champions
With four-time world championship runner-up Thierry Neuville and the soon-to-be 46-year-old record champion Sébastien Loeb, who will share the third Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC with Spaniard Dani Sordo during the year, the team from Alzenau in Germany has an extremely strong line-up.
Loeb won the Queen of the Rallies a total of seven times from 2003 to 2013. As Ott Tänak is sticking with his current starting number #8, there will be no starting number #1 in the 2020 WRC.
In the 90-second preview with scenes from the test drives, the three drivers look ahead to the upcoming season opener.
Hyundai wants both titles in 2020
The Team Director of Hyundai Motorsport makes no secret of his objective.
Andrea Adamo: "We had a very successful year in 2019. But now we are starting from scratch again. We want to fight for victory at every rally as well as for the drivers' and brand titles. We know that our opponents will be very competitive again, so our technical package has to be as strong as possible. With Ott, Thierry, Dani and Sébastien, we have one of the strongest line-ups in the WRC. The fact that we are attractive to such drivers reflects our reputation in international motorsport. I am already very excited about what the new season will bring."
Toyota hopes to continue Ogier's winning streak
Since 2014, the WRC winner of the Rally Monte Carlo has always been Sébastien Ogier, first three times with Volkswagen, then twice with Ford and last year with the now retired Citroën team. The current Hyundai drivers Neuville, Tänak and Loeb finished behind Ogier a year ago.
Toyota Gazoo Racing is hoping to continue this series. Since 1998 with the newly crowned Dakar winner Carlos Sainz, then in a Corolla WRC, the Japanese have never triumphed at the "Monte".
The Frenchman's team-mates are Welshman Elfyn Evans and Finn Kalle Rovanperä. Toyota Gazoo Racing has thus been completely reorganized. Jari-Matti Latvala did not receive a new contract (nor did he sign with any other team), while his Finnish compatriot Esapekka Lappi moves to M-Sport Ford as the new WRC spearhead.
The following video shows the Toyota WRC team presentation at the Tokyo Motor Show.
Start into the darkness
The 88th running of the Rally Monte Carlo begins on Thursday with the start ceremony in the Principality. Afterwards, two special stages in the dark will get things underway, although SS1 has not been run since 1994.
After four stages with a total of 16 special stages (304.28 kilometers), the first WRC round of 2020 will come to an end shortly after midday on Sunday.
Three Swiss teams
Olivier Burri will be competing in this classic for the 22nd time. Unlike in the last two years, he is now driving a VW Polo R5 with co-driver Anderson Levratti. The aim is to finish on the podium in the amateur classification.
As winners of the 2019 Clio R3T Alps Trophy, Ismaël Vustiner and Florine Kummer are allowed to take part in the Monte Carlo Rally at the expense of Renault Switzerland, Renault Sport and Michelin Motorsport. It will be the second Monte start for the fast pair from Valais after 2018, where they fell victim to an accident in Saturday's stage.
The third Swiss team among the 88 entries (see Starting list Rally Monte Carlo 2020) are Sacha Althaus and Lisiane Zbinden. Last year's junior runners-up will tackle the WRC adventure in their tried-and-tested Peugeot 208 R2.
