Rally

Chewon Lim Signed By Hyundai Motorsport For New Driver Development Programme

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Credit: http://press.motorsport.hyundai.com

Hyundai Motorsport have launched their new Driver Development Programme in another step taken by Hyundai to increase their presence in global rallying and follows the introduction of the manufactures R5 specification i20 last season.

Lim, who won the South Korean TV show ‘The Rallyist’ in 2015 ahead of 5,000 other competitors does have previous motorsport experience including most notably taking part in European-based F3 racing.

After winning the competition, Lim and Belgian co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe spent last season working with Hyundai Motorsport at their base in Alzenau, Germany to begin learning the skills needed to be a top-level rally pairing and they also entered seven events together throughout 2016.

The duo will for 2017 compete in various events around Europe including Rallye Deutschland and also the full Tour European Rally Series in a R5-spec i20 after competing throughout last season in a less powerful R2-spec car as they begun to get to grips with professional rallying.

Lim was ecstatic with the news of his deal with Hyundai. He said: “This is a big step in my rally career. To be part of the Hyundai Motorsport Driver Development Programme and have the support of a successful WRC team is very encouraging for me. Last year I felt like I made a lot of progress. I had to learn a totally new system, having Martijn beside in the car compared to before when I would be alone.

He added: “The move into the new generation i20 R5 is another challenge for me. There is a lot more power in the car and it is also four-wheel drive which means I have to slightly adapt my driving style again to get the best out of it. Every time I get in the car I will be learning more, but that is the target.”

While Alan Penasse, Hyundai Motorsport Team Manager and who sat on the TV show judging panel to pick Lim commented: “One of the things that impressed me most about Chewon was his ability to learn quickly and he has maintained that since he started working with Hyundai Motorsport. Through his training and testing last year he learnt the basics of rallying and was able to build a good relationship with Martijn as his co-driver.”

The first event Lim and Wydaeghe will compete in this season is the Saarland-Pfalz Rallye in Germany on March 3-4.

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I'm 23 and studying a Masters in Public Relations at the University of Sunderland after graduating with a Sports Journalism degree last year. I'm one of the co-editors here at TCF and mainly look after the off-road section of the site which covers championships such as the FIA World Rally and World Rallycross series'. Away from writing and studying I have a deep interest in of a lot of different sports as well as trying to be an amateur motorsport photographer and I'm also a big music fan too!
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