2C Compétition will run Hyundai’s WRC2 program this season, as it retains both Teemu Suninen and Fabrizio Zaldivar for the upcoming World Rally Championship season.
Hyundai’s WRC2 concern had been operated by Estonian outfit RedGrey for the last few years, but given Ott Tänak is a co-owner of the team and has left Hyundai, RedGrey will instead run a Ford Fiesta Rally2 for last year’s Junior WRC champion Robert Virves in 2023.
2C has worked closely with Hyundai Motorsport in the past, running i20 Coupe WRCs in recent WRC seasons for its then junior drivers Pierre-Louis Loubet, Oliver Solberg and Ole Christian Veiby.
Last year it headed to the US and the American Rally Association with Ken Block where the team narrowly missed out on the National title to Subaru and Brandon Semenuk.
But 2C team manager Florent Peronnet recently told DirtFish that the squad has “some unfinished business with WRC” which has materialized itself in a Hyundai-associated WRC2 program.
The season will begin for both Suninen and Zaldivar on next month’s Rally Sweden.
“I feel that we have done a good job developing the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 into a winning car,” said Suninen, who in November last year confirmed to DirtFish he would remain with Hyundai but wasn’t sure which car he would drive.
“Last season we began to show it, but unfortunately we couldn’t prove the full potential of which it is capable.
“There were new rallies and different conditions to the ones we tested in; while this meant we had a lot to learn, the working environment remained positive in our team, which always helps.
“In my opinion we have what it takes to win, so it was an easy choice to continue with Hyundai Motorsport, especially now when WRC2 is getting super competitive.”
Hyundai customer racing manager Andrea Cisotti added: “Nurturing junior talent is an integral part of Hyundai Motorsport. Our participation in WRC2 has always been an important aspect of our activities and this year is no exception.
“We chose to put two experienced crews in our Hyundai i20 N Rally2 to push these rising stars even further. The category will be even more competitive this year, which is why continuity in our lineup will be crucial for the championship fight.
“Teemu and Fabrizio know the car well now, and have the motivation and ability to extract more performance from the car.
“Working closely with our customer racing department, they were able to develop the car and achieve some good results in 2022, and now the goal is to be frontrunners at every round.
“We believe they have a strong chance of winning our first WRC2 title and we look forward to seeing what they can achieve this season.”
Winning a WRC2 title will be a big challenge though given the strength of the competition.
Toksport Škoda, with drivers like defending champion Emil Lindholm and ex Rally1 pilots Solberg and Gus Greensmith, will be tough to beat as will M-Sport which fields Fiesta Rally2s for Adrien Fourmaux and Grégoire Munster.
