Hyundai WRC driver makes guest ARC appearance

One of the surprises of the recent Quit Forest Rally in Western Australia was the appearance of Hyundai World Rally Team test driver Kevin Abbring. The ARC media team spoke with the Dutchman about his first time in Australia, attending a round of the Australian Rally Championship and supporting Molly Taylor.
 

Q: Kevin great to see you in Australia, is this your first time Down Under?
 
KA: It certainly is. My first impressions are it is great! The people are so friendly, I could get very used to the weather, this is perfect for me, but maybe I do not want to be here in the middle of summer, I imagine it gets very hot.
 
Q: And you’ve had a chance to look at the stages, and to see the famous gravel we have in Western Australia.
 
KA: I have to say great stages, very exciting to watch and I’m sure to drive too. The gravel is very tricky, very loose on top.
 
Q: You’ve been helping Molly and Neal Bates this weekend, how did that all come about?
 
KA: My co-driver, Seb Marshall, used to co-drive for Molly in Europe. He introduced us and we’ve stayed in touch. It’s great to be able to help other drivers out too, and great to see Molly get such an incredible result this weekend.
 
Q: And I believe you’re using the opportunity to visit Australia to not only see the rally but also to have a holiday after a few busy months testing with Hyundai?
 
KA: It has been very busy couple of months, so yes recharging my battery. But I also wanted to visit the rally and help the guys (Molly, Neal & Coral Taylor) out, and to see your country as well. It’s been on my list to visit Australia for a long, long time and now I am finally here.
 
Q: You joined Hyundai this year after previously driving for Peugeot. You’ve been doing a lot of testing I hear, how is it all going?
 
KA: It’s going well. I just finished a four-day test for Hyundai before I left to visit Australia. We are definitely on a good track, we have done a lot of testing with the test car, this is not the brand new car yet, more developing the current car. I have been testing the new paddle shift, which I think is homologated soon, so another step in a good direction for the Hyundai i20.
 
Q: Will we see you driving the Hyundai competitively this year or just testing?
 
KA: It depends. I don’t know, the first coming Rounds will be just developing for me. But I am doing recce in Argentina, and then might be going straight back to Europe after to continue development. Maybe though 4 or 5 rallies to come for me this year, we will see.

Q: Thank you Kevin, and good luck for the rest of this season!

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