Hyundai Motorsport WRC2 team are heading to the second round of the season at Rally Sweden hoping for better results as the season-opener at Rallye Monte-Carlo as it didn’t go their way.
Ole Christian Veiby claimed the Rally Sweden victory in the WRC2 class last season driving for Kristoffersson Motorsport in a Volkswagen Polo GTI R5. Veiby and his Swedish co-driver Jonas Andersson are representing their country at the home event as they head out on the roads in Värmland and across into neighbouring Norway.
“Rally Sweden is one of the highlights of the season. It’s very much a home rally, one of the stages even goes through our family forest.” Veiby said.
“I was watching there since I was a little kid, so it means a lot. There are lots of supporters, friends and family; to see so many Norwegian flags is really special.“
“To drive on proper snow conditions is, I think, one of the best things to do. The grip level can even sometimes be better than gravel, especially with studded tyres.“
“The target for the rally is for sure a victory. We were a bit disappointed about Monte-Carlo; I think the car worked really well so hopefully it will also do that in Sweden. I’m looking forward to it!” Veiby added.
In the sister Hyundai i20 R5 car Russians Nikolay Gryazin and Yaroslav Fedorov are hoping to make a positive impression after the disappointing results at the season-opener, Gryazin made his debut in the Hyundai there and he is determined to deliver good results in Sweden.
“Sweden for us means quite a lot because it’s winter. Back in my country, we drive in the cold a lot. We had a valuable experience in Monte-Carlo, adapting to a new car in tricky conditions.” Gryazin said.
“I feel more confident now and I hope the result reflects that. This will be my second time in Rally Sweden. It will be difficult to compete against the local crews, but I am determined to secure a good result and to see how the Hyundai i20 R5 performs. It has definitely shown good pace in all conditions so I hope we will have a positive weekend – whatever the conditions.”
“We saw an encouraging performance from our i20 R5 in Monte-Carlo, and we hope to confirm that also in Sweden. We expect to see a more confident and assured performance from our two crews in this event.” Andrea Adamo, Team Principsl, said.
“For Ole Christian and Jonas, this is a home rally, and we know from their WRC 2 victory last season what they can achieve. Overall, we hope to see a more consistent and representative result, even with the challenges that we expect all crews will face.”
