Hyundai puts Michel Nandan in charge of WRC effort

Hyundai has appointed former Peugeot WRC technical director Michel Nandan to head up their assault on WRC.

As Hyundai matures in to a credible mainstream force, improving brand perception is crucial to its long-term goals and 2012 is all about improving Hyundai’s brand experience and perceptions of the brand.

A part of that focus is to take Hyundai back in to WRC rallying with a much modified i20, where Hyundai are hoping for a better experience than they had when they went rallying a decade ago – which should be a given considering the big strides Hyundai has made in its cars in the last few years.

As part of the serious push in to WRC, Hyundai has appointed the former technical director of the successful Peugeot WRC team from 199-2005 (when Peugeot won three manufacturers titles) – Michel Nandan – to head up their works effort for 2014 (although the Hyundai WRC team will have one outing in 2013).

The in-house Hyundai WRC team – based in Germany as Hyundai Motorsport GmbH – are using an interim version of the 120 WRC to carry out component testing ahead of a full season in WRC in 2014, and look like they’re waiting to see how the 2013 WRC pans out before committing to drivers for the 2014 season.

Michel Nandan said:

I am honoured to have been chosen by Hyundai to spearhead its exciting new entry into the WRC. The project is still in its infancy, but things are moving rapidly, and I am looking forward to developing the team as this year progresses. There is much to be done, of that we are fully aware, but with a dedicated facility in Alzenau and an ambitious core of highly motivated personnel, we are already making good progress.

All sounds very promising for Hyundai.