Star of the first season of the famous Netflix series “Drive to Survive” when he was team boss at Renault, Cyril Abiteboul has since come a long way and finds himself at the head of the Competition department at Hyundai. and while he has just brought back the first title to the South Korean manufacturer with the coronation of Thierry Neuville, he did not hesitate to attack the FIA. According to him, while the WRC is the FIA's second sport in terms of audience, there is a severe lack of investment from the group.
“A lot of people who spend their day doing nothing”
“It's a very expensive sport, especially if a brand wants to compete at the highest level. But the cost is linked to the value of the competition. If you go to Formula 1, you go there with a goal, just like in other disciplines. But in rallying, what is the objective? Traditionally, rallies used production cars, although nowadays they have nothing to do with production models. reduce costs, find the right cars that be spectacular, and set realistic objectives while maintaining the spectacle. This is how more brands will arrive”, he indicated, before detailing his remarks: “We also need the support of the rallies. are the second most important discipline in motorsport in terms of audience after Formula 1, and at the FIA, only two people take care of it. In Formula 1 or Formula E, there are many more I think. as well as having a service park modeled on that of Formula 1 is not a good thing, because there are a lot of people who spend their day doing nothing,” he said in an interview with AS. The message is clear.
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To summarize
Cyril Abiteboul, now head of the Competition department at Hyundai, did not hesitate to attack the FIA over its investment in the WRC.
