Hyundai Motor is poised to become a leading automaker in motorsports, sweeping eight wins at the World Rally Championship and World Touring Car Cup so far this year, the company said Tuesday.
The latest victory scored by Thierry Neuville, driver of Hyundai WRC team, came last week at the seventh round of the 2018 WRC in Italy.
“The rally in Italy was fantastic. We were able to reap a notable record thanks to Hyundai’s outstanding i20 rally car and team members,” said Michele Nandan, the head to Hyundai WRC team.
Thierry Neuville (right), driver of Hyundai WRC team, and co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul after winning the seventh round of this year‘s WRC in Italy last week. (Hyundai Motor)
At the WRC rallying series drivers compete with mass produced models on and off roads.
The WRC is a popular motor sports event alongside Formula One, which carmakers are keen on participating to raise brand awareness and boast their technology.
In a bid to take its motor sports business and high performance vehicles to the international arena, Hyundai combined related teams and established a new division last March.
By Kim Bo-gyung (
lisakim425@heraldcorp.com)