Great news for Australian rally fans with Hyundai Motorsport confirming Chris Atkinson will make his competitive debut for the Hyundai Shell World Rally Team at Rally Mexico with co-driver Stéphane Prévot.
Atkinson will be piloting the #8 Hyundai i20 WRC in its first competitive hit out on gravel. Atkinson has a great track record at the Mexican event recording his highest ever result by finishing in second place back in 2008.
Chris Atkinson said: “It has been a great pleasure to have been involved in the testing of the Hyundai i20 WRC but to have the opportunity to contest Rally Mexico with the team is fantastic. I have had several good results in Mexico, including my best WRC finish of second place in 2008, so I have some great memories of this event and the Mexican fans. It will be the competitive debut of the Hyundai i20 WRC on gravel so it will be interesting to see how we can perform. I know how hard everyone has been working to prepare for this season so I hope we can repay them with a good result!”
Team Principal of the Hyundai Shell World Rally Team, Michel Nandan commented: “We are very happy to have Chris on board for Rally Mexico, an event he has contested several times during his career and one that he knows very well. After Rallye Monte-Carlo we had to start making decisions on Rally Mexico and we thought Chris would be the ideal choice for our first rally on loose surface. We were impressed with Chris’ pace in Mexico last year and having feedback from a different driver will definitely help us significantly to further develop the Hyundai i20 WRC.”
“Chris was also a major asset during our testing year in the development of the Hyundai i20 WRC in the build-up to our participation in the FIA World Rally Championship and he certainly deserves to be part of the team this year as well” he concluded.
Atkinson will be joined in the Rally Mexico that starts on the 6th of March 2014, by the team’s lead driver Thierry Neuville in the Hyundai i20 WRC #7.
Good luck Atko!
