Hyundai trekt zich terug op het einde van 2003 ... of onmiddellijk ??

[Bart]

Hyundai Motor Company will pull out of the World Rally Championship at the end of 2003.

In a press statement, the South Korean company re-affirmed its determination to complete the 2003 World Rally Championship and its long-term commitment to the sport, but disclosed that it will pull out for two years to re-organise.

Its appearance on the Sanremo Rally was called into question when its British team Motor Sport Developments sent its staff home yesterday, citing a contractual dispute.

“MSD has failed to provide us with audited financial records which we are legally entitled to review,” said B.H. Lee, HMC’s director of overseas marketing and promotion, claimed. “Until we can get a true picture of the state of their finances, we have no choice but to withhold further payment.”

Following the conclusion of the 2003 campaign, Hyundai will pull out of the 2004 and 2005 seasons to concentrate on the development of a new powertrain and car in preparation for a comeback in the latter half of 2006 and the return to a full season of rallying in 2007.

“It is a painful decision, but also a realistic admission that a break is absolutely mandatory for us to reorganize and rethink our entire approach to motorsport. But we'll be back in 2006 in fighting form with a completely new engine and car to mount a more credible challenge for the WRC crown," Lee added.

As part of the reorganization, the company will set up a new World Rally Team Headquarters at the company's 50,000,000-euro Design and Technical Center in Rüsselsheim in Germany.
( Bron: worldrallynews.com )

toch maar afwachten of dit jaar Hyundai nog aan de start komt

[Rallyloverke]

Inderdaad Bart, het lijkt inderdaad nog niet zeker dat Hyundai dit seizoen nog gaat uitdoen ...

Loix heeft het echt nog niet getroffen wat betreft wagenkeuze ...

[Bart]

Hyundai: it's up to MSD
Hyundai has emphasised its wish to complete the 2004 World Rally Championship before its temporary withdrawal from the sport. But a spokesman said that it is not primarily responsible for resolving the contractual dispute with its rally team Motor Sport Developments.

“We are standing there with open arms. It is up to MSD to make the next step. According to the contract, we have the right to know where the money was invested,” a spokesman for Hyundai Motor Europe claimed.

The partnership between the two companies began in 1998. MSD’s accounts are next due to be made public at the end of November. The current financial dispute has to be resolved swiftly if the team is to appear on the Sanremo Rally, which begins on October 3.
( Bron: worldrallynews.com )

nog een kleine 2 weken voor de San Remo. Als ze al aan de start komen, zal het met weinig motivatie zijn zeker...

[Bart]

Hyundai has sent a delegation from South Korea to Britain, but has so far failed to resolve its differences with its World Championship rally team Motor Sport Developments.

The two sides met on Monday and are expected to do so again on Wednesday.

A public dispute between the two erupted last week, in which MSD sent staff home, as it no longer had the money to finance the remaining rallies of the season and Hyundai announced that it would pull out at the end of the year, setting up its own team for a return in 2006.

“We’re hoping to get everything resolved in the next couple of days. We have shown a wish to finish the season off. We are available all the time,” MSD Managing Director David Whitehead said.

Agreement needs to be reached by Thursday if the team is to contest next week’s Sanremo Rally.

( Bron: worldrallynews.com )

blijft afwachten...

[Rallyloverke]

Dit ziet er voorlopig ook niet goed uit : het bericht komt van WorldRallyNews (http://www.worldrallynews.com/index.shtml ) :

Hyundai’s drivers Freddy Loix and Armin Schwarz have not started the recce for the Sanremo Rally, but a spokesman for Hyundai Europe insisted that it believes it can resolve its financial dispute with its rally team Motor Sport Developments and that it can still take part in all four remaining rounds of the World Championship.

“Hyundai wants to do the last four races. Talks with MSD are going on,” he stated.

However, Motor Sport Developments had neither heard no word from South Korea by Sunday night and the recce cars are therefore still in Britain. Time is running out to transport the rally cars to Italy in time for the start.

[RaceFan]

Zijn er al geruchten mbt fast Freddy en volgend jaar?

[Bart]

Hyundai’s rally team Motor Sport Developments has confirmed that it will miss the Sanremo Rally this weekend.

In a press statement, MSD disclosed that it had been unable to resolve its financial dispute with Hyundai so far and that as the drivers had not started the recce today, it would withdraw from the rally on safety grounds. It said that it had supplied Hyundai with financial information and expressed the hope that an agreement could be reached for the rest of the 2003 season.

( Bron: worldrallynews.com )