FIA WRC2 frontrunner Ole Christian Veiby got a taste of rally action again yesterday (27 May) as he resumed testing the Hyundai i20 R5 in Norway.
Like the rest of the rally world, Veiby has been under lockdown since returning from Rally Mexico, and while he has been keeping busy with cycling and simulator training, last weekend he managed to return to motorsport action in a kart on a local circuit for a few hours.
This week he managed to go one step further and get some all-important seat time in the i20 R5 as he prepares for the restart of the FIA World Rally Championship season which is due to resume at Rally Finland at the start of August.
During the all-day test, he run through different setups for the car to get more experience with how the car handles on gravel as Rally Mexico has been his only gravel-experience in the car so far, so there has been a lot to learn and to improve.
“It was such a good feeling to get in the car again, and to drive!” Veiby explained to The Checkered Flag. “It’s been a long wait, even if we have been busy with other motorsport activity. But a proper gravel road in a rally-car, that’s what you want to be in when you are a rally-driver.
“I also wanted to get more gravel-experience with the i20 R5, as it is new car for us. We did Rally Mexico on gravel, but that also told us we need to learn more about setups, etc.”
Veiby is currently fourth place in the WRC2 standings, a retirement in the season-opening Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo due to an accident got things off to a bad start but since then has taken a second and third place in the two WRC2 events since; He also secured victory in Numedalsrally in his home country.
Testing will continue for Veiby over the next few weeks.
