Hyundai World Rally Team
Encyclopedia
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
in 1998 and 1999. In September 1999, Hyundai unveiled the Accent WRC, a World Rally Car
World Rally Car
World Rally Car is a term used to describe racing automobiles built to the specification set by the FIA, the international motorsports governing body, and used to compete in the outright class of the World Rally Championship...
based on the Hyundai Accent
Hyundai Accent
The Hyundai Accent , or Hyundai Verna in South Korea, is a subcompact car produced by Hyundai. In Australia, the first generation models carried over the Hyundai Excel name used by the Accent's predecessor. The Accent was replaced in 2000 by the Hyundai Verna in South Korea, although most...
. The Hyundai World Rally Team debuted the car at the 2000 Swedish Rally
Swedish Rally
The Uddeholm Swedish Rally , formerly the Swedish Rally, is an automobile rally competition held in Värmland, Sweden in early February. First held in 1950, when it was called the Rally to the Midnight Sun with start and finish at separate locations, seventeen years later both start and finish...
and achieved their first top-ten result at that year's Rally Argentina
Rally Argentina
The Rally Argentina is an Argentine rally competition that has been both a round of the World Rally Championship and also the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. The rally is also a round of the South American Rally Championship and the Argentine Rally Championship...
, when Alister McRae
Alister McRae
Alister McRae is a Scottish rally driver, who competed in the World Rally Championship. He is the son of the five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and the younger brother of the late 1995 World Rally Champion, Colin McRae...
and Kenneth Eriksson
Kenneth Eriksson
Kenneth Eriksson is a now retired World Rally Championship rally driver. He drove for several manufacturer teams, including the Subaru World Rally Team, Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Škoda...
finished seventh and eighth, respectively. Eriksson later drove the car to fifth place in New Zealand
Rally New Zealand
The Rally New Zealand was first held in Taupo in 1969, and was subsequently staged in Canterbury, before moving back to the North Island in 1971.The rally was included as a round of the World Championship in 1977...
and fourth in Australia
Rally Australia
Rally Australia is an automobile rally event which was held in and around Perth, Western Australia from 1988 until 2006, when that state's tourism commission severed its collaboration with the event. The rally was part of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship in 1988 and the World Rally Championship...
. In 2001, Hyundai debuted a new evolution of the Accent WRC, which was intended to improve reliability, but the performance of the car was still not good enough to challenge the four big teams (Ford World Rally Team, Mitsubishi
Ralliart
Ralliart was the high-performance and motorsports division of Mitsubishi Motors. It was responsible for development and preparation of the company's rally racing and off-road racing vehicles, as well as the development of high-performance models and parts available to the public...
, Peugeot
Peugeot Sport
Peugeot Sport is the department of French carmaker Peugeot responsible for motorsport activities.-Beginnings in rallying:Peugeot Sport was formed in 1981 under the name of Peugeot Talbot Sport, after Jean Todt, a World Rally Championship co-driver for Talbot driver Guy Fréquelin, was asked by...
and Subaru
Subaru World Rally Team
The Subaru World Rally Team was Subaru's World Rally Championship team. It used a distinctive blue with yellow color scheme that is a throwback to the sponsorship deal with State Express 555, a BAT cigarette brand popular in Asia. 555 logos were found on Subaru cars from 1993 to 2003...
). However, at the season-ending Rally GB
Rally GB
Wales Rally GB is the largest and most high profile motor rally in the United Kingdom. It is a round of the FIA World Rally Championship and was formerly a round of the MSA British Rally Championship and is based in and around the city of Cardiff in Wales...
, the team achieved their best result with McRae finishing fourth and Eriksson sixth.
For the 2002 season, Hyundai hired the four-time world champion Juha Kankkunen
Juha Kankkunen
Juha Matti Pellervo Kankkunen is a Finnish former rally driver. His factory team career in the World Rally Championship lasted from 1983 to 2002. He won 23 world rallies and four drivers' world championship titles, which were both once records in the series...
, along with Freddy Loix
Freddy Loix
Freddy Loix is a Belgian rally driver.Loix's career in motor sport began in karting at the age of 15...
and Armin Schwarz
Armin Schwarz
Armin Schwarz is a German rally driver. He competed in the World Rally Championship from 1988 to 2005, winning the 1991 Rally Catalunya and taking six other podium finishes...
. Kankkunen's fifth place in New Zealand was the team's best result, but they managed to edge out Škoda
Škoda Motorsport
Škoda Motorsport is the division of Czech car manufacturer Škoda Auto responsible for motorsport activities. Škoda competed as a manufacturer in the World Rally Championship between 1999 and 2005, and today competes in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge....
and Mitsubishi by one point in the battle for fourth place in the manufacturers' world championship. In September 2003, after a season hampered by budget constraints, Hyundai announced withdrawal from the WRC and planned to return in 2006, this has never happened though.
In 2006, following the announcement that Korea was scheduled to earn a Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
Grand Prix race, Hyundai announced that they plan to enter the sport. Korea Earned The 2010 Korean F1, but Hyundai did not participate in any ways.
Hyundai will be announcing future rally plans at the 2011 Chicago Auto Show, on February 9th http://blog.roadandtrack.com/hyundai%E2%80%99s-getting-dirty/
. The current plans for rally are focused around the newest Hyundai release, the Veloster http://www.hyundaiusa.com/vehicles/future-cars.aspx.
WRC results
| Year | Car | No | Driver | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | WDC | Points | WMC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Hyundai Accent WRC | 14 |  Kenneth ErikssonKenneth Eriksson Kenneth Eriksson is a now retired World Rally Championship rally driver. He drove for several manufacturer teams, including the Subaru World Rally Team, Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Škoda... |
MON | SWE 13 |
KEN | POR Ret |
ESP 23 |
ARG 8 |
GRE Ret |
NZL 5 |
FIN 15 |
CYP | FRA Ret |
ITA 45 |
AUS 4 |
GBR Ret |
11th | 5 | 7th | 8 |
| 15 |  Alister McRaeAlister McRae Alister McRae is a Scottish rally driver, who competed in the World Rally Championship. He is the son of the five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and the younger brother of the late 1995 World Rally Champion, Colin McRae... |
MON | SWE 14 |
KEN | POR Ret |
ESP Ret |
ARG 7 |
GRE Ret |
NZL Ret |
FIN 9 |
CYP | FRA 12 |
ITA 16 |
AUS Ret |
GBR 11 |
- | 0 | ||||
| 2001 | Hyundai Accent WRC2 | 9 |  Piero LiattiPiero Liatti Piero Liatti is an Italian rally driver. His speciality was driving on Tarmac rallies like Monte Carlo, Catalunya, Corsica and the San Remo Rally.-Biography:... |
MON Ret |
SWE | POR | ESP Ret |
ARG | CYP | GRE | KEN | FIN | NZL | ITA Ret |
FRA 8 |
AUS | GBR | - | 0 | 5th | 17 |
| Kenneth Eriksson Kenneth Eriksson Kenneth Eriksson is a now retired World Rally Championship rally driver. He drove for several manufacturer teams, including the Subaru World Rally Team, Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Škoda... |
MON | SWE 8 |
POR 7 |
ESP | ARG Ret |
CYP Ret |
GRE Ret |
KEN | FIN 12 |
NZL 10 |
ITA | FRA | AUS 12 |
GBR 6 |
21st | 1 | |||||
| 10 | Alister McRae Alister McRae Alister McRae is a Scottish rally driver, who competed in the World Rally Championship. He is the son of the five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and the younger brother of the late 1995 World Rally Champion, Colin McRae... |
MON 7 |
SWE Ret |
POR 6 |
ESP 11 |
ARG 9 |
CYP 7 |
GRE 15 |
KEN | FIN 13 |
NZL 9 |
ITA Ret |
FRA 9 |
AUS 10 |
GBR 4 |
17th | 4 | ||||
| 20 | Piero Liatti Piero Liatti Piero Liatti is an Italian rally driver. His speciality was driving on Tarmac rallies like Monte Carlo, Catalunya, Corsica and the San Remo Rally.-Biography:... |
MON | SWE | POR | ESP | ARG | CYP Ret |
GRE | KEN | FIN | NZL | ITA | FRA | AUS | GBR Ret |
- | 0 | ||||
 Juha KankkunenJuha Kankkunen Juha Matti Pellervo Kankkunen is a Finnish former rally driver. His factory team career in the World Rally Championship lasted from 1983 to 2002. He won 23 world rallies and four drivers' world championship titles, which were both once records in the series... |
MON | SWE | POR | ESP | ARG | CYP | GRE | KEN | FIN Ret |
NZL | ITA | FRA | AUS | GBR | - | 0 | |||||
| 2002 | Hyundai Accent WRC3 | 17 |  Armin SchwarzArmin Schwarz Armin Schwarz is a German rally driver. He competed in the World Rally Championship from 1988 to 2005, winning the 1991 Rally Catalunya and taking six other podium finishes... |
MON Ret |
SWE Ret |
FRA 13 |
ESP 16 |
CYP 7 |
ARG Ret |
GRE 9 |
KEN Ret |
FIN 13 |
GER Ret |
ITA Ret |
NZL 10 |
AUS Ret |
GBR Ret |
- | 0 | 4th | 10 |
| 18 |  Freddy LoixFreddy Loix Freddy Loix is a Belgian rally driver.Loix's career in motor sport began in karting at the age of 15... |
MON Ret |
SWE Ret |
FRA 9 |
ESP 10 |
CYP Ret |
ARG Ret |
GRE Ret |
KEN Ret |
FIN 9 |
GER Ret |
ITA 28 |
NZL 6 |
AUS Ret |
GBR 8 |
17th | 1 | ||||
| 19 | Juha Kankkunen Juha Kankkunen Juha Matti Pellervo Kankkunen is a Finnish former rally driver. His factory team career in the World Rally Championship lasted from 1983 to 2002. He won 23 world rallies and four drivers' world championship titles, which were both once records in the series... |
MON | SWE 8 |
FRA | ESP | CYP Ret |
ARG 7 |
GRE Ret |
KEN 8 |
FIN Ret |
GER | ITA | NZL 5 |
AUS Ret |
GBR 9 |
14th | 2 | ||||
 Tomasz KucharTomasz Kuchar Tomasz "Józef" Kuchar is a Polish, rally driver, Polish vice-champion 2007. Markko Märtin's and Michael Park's good friend.... |
MON | SWE | FRA Ret |
ESP | CYP 14 |
ARG | GRE | KEN | FIN | GER | ITA | NZL | AUS | GBR | - | 0 | |||||
| 2003 | Hyundai Accent WRC3 | 10 | Armin Schwarz Armin Schwarz Armin Schwarz is a German rally driver. He competed in the World Rally Championship from 1988 to 2005, winning the 1991 Rally Catalunya and taking six other podium finishes... |
MON 8 |
SWE 13 |
TUR Ret |
NZL Ret |
ARG Ret |
GRE Ret |
CYP 7 |
GER 12 |
FIN 12 |
AUS 13 |
ITA | FRA | ESP | GBR | 15th | 3 | 6th | 12 |
| 11 | Freddy Loix Freddy Loix Freddy Loix is a Belgian rally driver.Loix's career in motor sport began in karting at the age of 15... |
MON Ret |
SWE 10 |
TUR 10 |
NZL Ret |
ARG Ret |
GRE Ret |
CYP Ret |
GER 11 |
FIN 10 |
AUS 8 |
ITA | FRA | ESP | GBR | 13th* | 4* | ||||
| 11 | Jussi Välimäki Jussi Välimäki Jussi Välimäki is a Finnish rally driver, who scored eight World Rally Championship points during his career, with a best finish of fifth on the 2006 Rally d'Italia Sardegna.-Career:... |
MON | SWE Ret |
TUR | NZL Ret |
ARG | GRE Ret |
CYP | GER | FIN Ret |
AUS | ITA | FRA | ESP | GBR | - | 0 | ||||
| Justin Dale |
MON | SWE | TUR | NZL | ARG | GRE | CYP Ret |
GER | FIN | AUS | ITA | FRA | ESP | GBR | - | 0 | |||||
 Manfred StohlManfred Stohl Manfred Stohl is an Austrian rally driver who debuted in the World Rally Championship in 1991. Stohl's co-driver is fellow Austrian Ilka Minor.- Career :... |
MON | SWE | TUR | NZL | ARG | GRE | CYP | GER 18 |
FIN | AUS | ITA | FRA | ESP | GBR | 19th* | 2* | |||||
| 25 | Justin Dale |
MON | SWE | TUR | NZL | ARG | GRE | CYP | GER 28 |
FIN | AUS | ITA | FRA | ESP | GBR | - | 0 | ||||