Pre-Season Q+A with Team Director Andrea Adamo ??

The launch of the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) will take place this Saturday at the Autosport International show in Birmingham, UK
The event will represent the first public appearance for Team Director Andrea Adamo since being appointed into his new role
Adamo has a wealth of experience in the world of motorsport, which he will put into practice at the helm of Hyundai Motorsport’s WRC and Customer Racing activities.

Alzenau, Germany

January 10, 2019 – The launch of the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) at this weekend’s Autosport International show in Birmingham, UK, will mark the first public appearance of Team Director Andrea Adamo since taking on his new role.

The Italian was appointed to the position on 2 January, having spent three years establishing the company’s successful Customer Racing department. In his new role, Adamo oversees all motorsport activities from the company’s Alzenau base, including WRC and ongoing development of the i20 R5 and i30 N TCR cars for customers around the world.

The following Q+A was carried out with Adamo prior to the Autosport International show, looking at his career to date, his thoughts on the role of Team Director and the immediate priorities for Hyundai Motorsport’s WRC activities.

Q+A with Team Director Andrea Adamo ??

Andrea, how did you first become interested in motorsport?
“My father worked for the Italian ASN as a technical scrutineer so it was an environment that surrounded me while growing up. At around 14 years of age, I decided that I wanted to be a motorsport engineer. I attended technical school before going on to study engineering in Turin.”

What was your career path before joining Hyundai Motorsport?
“While I was a student, I was already co-operating with Abarth on rallying and racing. I was then a junior aerodynamicist in the DTM days before starting to work in super touring. I was a race engineer in Italian and Spanish championships with super touring cars. I was with FIAT Group until 2008 when they decided to reduce their motorsport activities. I then became a consultant working for many companies, including a Lotus rally car project, as well as N Technology until 2012 when I moved to Honda Racing to work on WTCC until 2015. At the end of that year, Hyundai Motorsport contacted me and the time was perfect for a new challenge.”

How did you set about establishing the Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing department?
“When I joined there were just three of us, and the focus was on the R5 program. We had to create the entire department from scratch, building and developing a car, and growing a customer base in a short space of time. It was an ambitious, tough target but we achieved it. Since then we’ve added a successful TCR project, which – alongside WRC and R5 – is helping us to create a strong reputation for the Hyundai name in global motorsport.”

Your new role as Team Director, what will that mean for you personally?
“I am excited to take on this new role with the additional responsibilities that it will bring. On the one hand it will be a big challenge but on the other I hope to unify and merge our various motorsport activities – WRC and Customer Racing. We have a great team of people in Alzenau so my aim is to create a cohesive working environment, optimising resources and continuing to build on the foundations that have been laid up to now.”

What are the immediate priorities for WRC?
“I am not the sort of person who comes in and changes things for the sake of it. I need to spend time to understand what is working and where we need to make adjustments. I have been asked to help the company to be successful but this is a team effort. We need to continue the work that has been done before. This team has fought for the WRC title for the past few years so, with humility, I will do what I can to take us the extra step that is needed.”

ANDREA ADAMO BIOGRAPHY

Date of birth May 25, 1971

2015 – present Hyundai Motorsport

Role: 
Team Director (Jan 2019)
Customer Racing Manager (Dec 2015)

2015: Alfa Romeo

Role:
Responsible for Alfa Romeo Giulia road car

2012-2015: Honda Racing

Role: 
WTCC Chief Engineer

2009-2011: Lola Cars and N Technology

Working on: 
Lola LMP cars
Glickenhaus P4/5 Competizione
Porsche Panamera Superstars Series projects

1995-2008: Alfa Romeo / Abarth

Working on:
DTM, Supertouring and S2000 Alfa Romeo

Job roles:
Aerodynamics Junior
Race Engineer
Chief Designer
Technical Director

About Hyundai Motorsport GmbH ??

Established on 19 December 2012, Hyundai Motorsport GmbH is responsible for Hyundai’s global motorsport activities, including its FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) programme. Based in Alzenau, on the outskirts of Frankfurt in Germany, the company scored victory in its debut season in 2014 with a spectacular 1-2 in Rallye Deutschland. After a year of consolidation, the team claimed two wins in the 2016 season on its way to second in the Manufacturers’ Championship. A brand new car, the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, was developed for 2017 based on revised technical regulations. The team registered four wins on a variety of terrains to finish as close runners-up after a strong season. Hyundai Motorsport continued its competitive form into 2018 with more victories and podiums, again finishing second in the championship.

Further information about Hyundai Motorsport is available at: http://motorsport.hyundai.com

About Hyundai Motor
Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Company is committed to becoming a lifetime partner in automobiles and beyond. The company leads the Hyundai Motor Group, an innovative business structure capable of circulating resources from molten iron to finished cars. Hyundai Motor has eight manufacturing bases and seven design and technical centers worldwide and in 2017 sold about 4.5 million vehicles globally. With more than 110,000 employees worldwide, Hyundai Motor continues to enhance its product lineup with localized models and strives to strengthen its leadership in clean technology, starting with the world’s first mass-produced fuel cell electric vehicle ix35 Fuel cell and IONIQ, the world’s first model with three electrified powertrains in a single body type.

More information about Hyundai Motor and its products can be found at: http://worldwide.hyundai.com or http://globalpr.hyundai.com/

Media Hyundai Motorsport GmbH ? ?? ??

Photos: @Media Hyundai Motorsport GmbH ? ?? ??

10 January 2019