Ott Tänak and Thierry Neuville, Hyundai’s full-time starting drivers, have been quite critical of the ‘Rally1’ vehicles, although both have agreed in the step forward that has been made with these new hybrid cars in terms of safety. And perhaps this evolution in the car’s resistance to impacts compared to World Rally Cars has been able to make the difference between a serious accident and a tragedy. Thierry Neuville himself knows this after having a wild road outing in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 tests. The Belgian driver lost control of his car and the South Korean ‘Rally1’ fell down an embankment to the bed of a river, destroying all the vegetation in its path. The damage to the vehicle speaks for itself.
The only image that has transpired of the accident serves to see the serious damage to the front of the Hyundai i20 N Rally1, of which virtually any trace of the bodywork or bonnet has disappeared. There is also serious damage to the roof behind the B-pillar and at the rear of the car., almost unrecognizable after the accident. Thierry Neuville and Martin Wydaeghe were transferred after the accident to the Montpellier Hospital, a medical center where it was certified that the Belgian pilot had not suffered injuries. while Wydaeghe appears to have only an injury to his left clavicle of which in principle will be operated in his native country. A balance of injuries that almost seems like a miracle considering the severity of the accident and the condition in which the test Hyundai i20 N Rally1 finished.
Thanks to the safety of the new ‘Rally1’ and the fact that Neuville and Wydaeghe were not seriously injured, this accident comes at the worst possible time for Hyundai Motorsport. The team will have to make an enormous effort to supply the test unit of its Hyundai i20 N Rally1 and have ready the three cars with which you will compete in the Monte Carlo Rally, beyond passing the FIA homologation for its new vehicle of the WRC. Undoubtedly, a major setback that compromises the last tests of the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 before this homologation and the preparation of the ‘Monte’ itself. What’s more, Martin Wydaeghe’s collarbone injury may keep him out of the game for several months, forcing Thierry Neuville to start the year with another co-driver.
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