After having pursued that objective for six years and having finally achieved it last season, a quest which almost drives them to quit the WRC altogether, It now seems that their thirst for glory has been vigorously awakened.

Their rise in expectations is, however, fully justified after their stellar signing of Ott Tänak. The Estonian driver arrives from Toyota with the WRC trophy fresh in his pocket. A priori, having the title defendant in their ranks makes of Andrea Adamo’s team the strongest of all contenders.

The Eastern European driver will obviously take part in all of the appointment in the season, as will his Belgian partner and runner-up for the last four years. Perhaps it was Neuville’s apparent inability to conquer the title that has been behind the signing of the athlete from Karla. The French and Spanish drivers will complete the 2020 line up by sharing a third Hyundai missile.

This week the whole team has been making the final preparations for the imminent start of the campaign at the Rally Monte Carlo, which is due to take place from the 23rd to the 26th of January. Tänak has, to that effect, taken over from Thierry Neuville at the wheel of the i20WRC this week to fully focus on his Hyundai debut. 

New look, same colours 

In other news regarding Hyundai, the team has unveiled the new livery for the I20 WRC for the upcoming World Rally Championship this week. In all honesty, it is hard to see what all of the fuss is about since this is very similar to the previous one. 

The trademark red and blue flames of the Asian team have remained untouched. As for the overall colouring of the car, the blue has gained ground to the red on the sides. Otherwise, very few changes. Their aesthetic line, therefore, remains the same as in previous years. 

Toyota vs Hyundai: The Asian makers come head to head

After the departure of Citroën from the competition, the South Korean team will only have Toyota and M-Sport to beat, but since the latter is not expected to present a serious threat, the two Asian manufacturers are destined to measure themselves against each other through the season in a thrilling and continuous duel.

Tommi Makkinen ’s team, in any case, has not mourned the departure of their star driver for long as this was quickly replaced by Sébastien Ogier, team-less as he was since the French team decided to leave. The second most successful driver in WRC history will pursue his seventh title on board the Yaris WRC, shoulder to shoulder with rookie Elfyn Evans.

Completing the Japanese line-up will be the also debutant in the top category of the World Rally Championship, Kalle Rovanperä who won the WRC2 Pro in 2019 with a Fabia R5 from Skoda Motorsport.

Images: Hyundai WRT