World Rally Championship to launch Innovation Forum in Monaco
Hyundai Motorsport’s recent appointment of a high-profile technical leader will allow for many of the team’s “good ideas” and “excellent intuitions” to become a reality.
Francois-Xavier (FX) Demaison was recruited to the role of Technical Director in May and was on site at last weekend’s Rally Italia Sardegna to witness Thierry Neuville hand Hyundai its first victory of the 2023 campaign.
Demaison comes with a proven track record in a number of motorsport codes, including Formula One where he enjoyed a spell with Williams Racing.
it is with rallying the Frenchman has enjoyed his greatest successes, notably with Volkswagen Motorsport between 2013 and 2016 when it clinched four consecutive drivers’ and manufacturers’ crowns.
Prior to joining the German outfit – which was victorious on 43 out of 52 rallies it started with its all-conquering Polo World Rally Car, the 54-year-old learned his trade at Subaru in the World Rally Championship.
Hyundai’s sporting arm has been going through something of a transformation, with the first keynote signing coming in May 2021 with the arrival of Belgian Christian Loriaux who was installed as an engineering consultant.
At the beginning of this year, Former Renault Formula One boss Cyril Abiteboul was added to the company’s payroll as Team Principal in a sign of its intent to seal a maiden drivers’ title.
Asked during Rally Italia Sardegna what he expected Demaison will bring to the Korean marque’s World Rally Championship assault moving forward, Abiteboul said: “I think that was clear to me since joining that there was a big gap in the orchard in the absence of a technical director.
“Motorsport is about technology, including rally, we have got very good ingredients, we have an excellent powertrain, we have a very good chassis, a lot of effort in terms of data science, performance analysis and rally engineering.
“At some point you need someone at the top which is giving a technical direction, someone who is happy to try and give some strategic directions to the team. You also need [them] to provide strong technical leadership and make sure that we deliver.
“We have got a lot of good ideas, lots of excellent intuitions, but at some point we need to turn all of that into a realisation, concrete execution and this is very much what we will be focused on doing,” added Abiteboul.
On top of his sporting endeavours, Demaison will also have a hand on technical resources, and work closely with the research and development groups within Hyundai Motor Company.
