Motorsport On Monday: 10/3/2014
Hyundai dines out in Mexico, Porsche feasts on Swiss chocolate while Vettel? He prefers donuts...
Even just three rounds in the signs have been positive, but there's been no real reward. On its arrival on the Monte PH was in attendance, but didn't get to see an i20 WRC turn a wheel after both cars retired on day one before we even got to the service park. Not great for the fans or the sponsors on its debut.
A seventh and an eighth in Sweden returned solid points. But with the announcement Hyundai will field a three-car assault at Rally Portugal, the first gravel event of the year last week in Mexico meant it was crunch time. Thankfully, young team leader Thierry Neuville delivered with Hyundai's maiden podium, bagging a third place finish behind the dominant VW one-two of Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvall.
Granted, the Belgian finished over five minutes behind the fast Frenchman and was helped by a few incidents throughout the field - a water leak on the road section nearly scuppering the team's podium - but the 25-year-old brought the i20 WRC home to surprise the doubters on the toughest challenge for Hyundai yet.
With an all-new car coming next year, the signs are positive. Here's hoping Hyundai can run VW closer this year.
No beauty but lots of interesting tech underneath
While Geneva was mainly about the road vehicles, there were a number of significant competition car debuts - not least Audi's 2014 R18 E-Tron Quattro and Porsche's 919 Hybrid.
The latter was of particular interest, as it'll mark the Stuttgart firm's return to La Sarthe after last competing as a top class works effort back in 1998. A certain Mr McNish won that year while another rookie race driver was trying to make his way in the world of sports cars - this year Mark Webber returns to Le Mans with Porsche, while it'll be the first year that we won't see Nishy back in France.
Apart from the driver interest, it'll be interesting to see how Porsche's technical solution stacks up against the tried and tested diesel-hybrid formula from Audi and Toyota's naturally aspirated V8 petrol-electric powertrain.
The Porsche uses a petrol-powered 2.0-litre turbocharged V4 unit revving to 9,000rpm, supplemented by an electric motor on the front axle. Both kinetic and heat energy recovery systems (the second using a turbine in the exhaust to drive a generator unit, like in F1) feed the lithium-ion battery with juice.
Quite the unique approach, furthered by the 919's suspension setup. Unlike the Audi and Toyota - and most front-running LMP1 cars of the last decade - the Porsche uses vertically-mounted coil springs at the front rather than the more commonplace torsion bar arrangement, as used on the RS Spyder LMP2 car a few years back.
The thinking is the hybrid gubbins tucked away in the nose has forced the design, as Porsche has focused heavily on the 919's packaging - spring and damper units free up more space, while the V4 unit is extremely short and, with a wide bank angle, means a low centre of gravity with much of the car's significant mass centralised to improve handling. The carbon fibre bell housing and transmission case don't just look cool, they're designed to deal with the massive heat build-up and improve agility over the number of quick direction changes around the Le Mans lap.
Donuts now back on the menu for F1 drivers
F1 testing has dominated Motorsport On Monday recently, but in the midst of the Red Bull-Renaultreliability headlines, the FIA slipped in a nice little morsel towards the end of February.
Prompted by Vettel's championship celebrations in India this year - fined for putting in a few lurid, smoky donuts down in his RB9 - the FIA has now sanctioned a display of actual emotion in F1.
According to the FIA, an exception to article 30.4 of the 2014 sporting regulations (which details all drivers must not stop on track without a valid reason) "will be made for the winning driver who may perform an act of celebration before reaching parc ferme, providing any such act is performed safely and does not endanger other drivers or officials, does not call into question the legality of the car and does not delay the podium ceremony." Seems the FIA has been listening to PistonHeads...
Get ready for post-race donuts to become very much the preferred snack of the F1 fan in 2014 - all washed down with a nice glass of Martini as Williams brings that iconic livery back for this year.
[WRC and F1 photos: LAT Photo]
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