BOSSES at Hyundai Motorsport have said they want a bigger share of the Irish market when its heavily-updated i20 N Rally2 becomes available to private customers in the new year.
The South Korean manufacturer has been a bit-part player in Ireland since the sport’s second tier moved over from R5 to Rally2 rules, with M-Sport, Skoda and Citroen making up the lion’s share of entries with their Fiesta, Fabia RS and C3-badged offerings.
Now redundant, and less advanced than the i20 N, Volkswagen Motorsport’s Polo GTi R5 continues to prove more popular and also better suited to Ireland’s unique country roads.
In the hands of Sam Moffett, the four-wheel-drive supermini last started a round of the competition back in February; he finished seventh overall alongside James O’Reilly.
However, in recent months, engineers have been working to increase its competitiveness on asphalt with support from New Zealander Hayden Paddon and Spaniard Dani Sordo.
Work continued on last month’s Rallye du Var in France where Dungannon’s Kris Meeke provided his feedback and was said to be happy with the ‘Step2 Package’ improvements.
These include new front and rear suspensions kinematics, an electronic turbo wastegate, updated engine management software, gearbox ratios and differential setting options. Together, they represent the single, largest upgrade package since it arrived back in 2021.
Benoit Nogier – Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Manager – believes the changes can help make the i20 N Rally2 relevant, and popular, in the Irish Tarmac Championship, particularly given the warm review it received from Meeke, a five-time winner in the World Rally Championship.
“We are fighting very hard to have more Hyundai Motorsport customers in Ireland,” the Frenchman said. “Most of our test and development work to date for the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 Step2 has been focused on creating the best possible tarmac package for the car.
“Ireland is one of the biggest countries for tarmac rallying, with big entries for national events. It’s a country where Hyundai Motorsport customers have had success in the past.
“Of course, we are always open to having new customers for the i20 N Rally2 Step2 and we would love to see some of these new cars on the Irish roads in 2025,” he continued.
“Hearing Kris Meeke’s positive feedback after running with the Step2 package as zero car in Rallye du Var shows we have got it right. He confirmed that the car is a step forward in every major area we have targeted with the Jokers that have been available to us.”
