Francois-Xavier Demaison has made his FIA WRC return with Hyundai as its technical director after a short stint with Williams F1 team.
We have bolstered our operations with the appointment of François-Xavier (FX) Demaison as Technical Director – a key new role in our leadership structure. “We are pleased to have François-Xavier joining us in Alzenau to lead our technical departments across our motorsport activities,” said our President, Sean Kim. “His extensive experience and achievements will prove invaluable as we look to establish ourselves as the benchmark in our motorsport programmes.”
“The appointment of François-Xavier as Technical Director is another exciting step in the journey of our company and the N Brand,” added Till Wartenberg, Vice President N Brand & Motorsport. “In just ten short years we have achieved great things and we are well placed to continue to grow and develop in the years ahead.”
The 54-year-old will join our team from 1st June 2023 to drive the efforts of our technical departments across WRC, Customer Racing and electric motorsport.
Proven success
FX has previously held Technical Director roles at Williams Racing and Volkswagen Motorsport. His 26-year experience in the industry spans WRC, Formula 1, Rallycross and TCR. During his tenure, Volkswagen Motorsport claimed four drivers’ and four manufacturers’ titles in WRC (2013-2016) and won 43 out of 52 rallies across the four seasons. The operation also clinched the TCR International Drivers’ Championship in 2016 and 2017.
“He knows what it takes to not only win, but also dominate in motorsport, and it is that experience that we need to channel our efforts and win championship titles in the years to come,” commented Cyril, our Team Principal.
Powering forward
In his new role, FX will liaise with the relevant R&D groups within Hyundai Motor Company worldwide as he assumes management responsibility of the vehicle and powertrain departments for the technical fulfilment of our various motorsport programmes. Working closely with our WRC Programme Manager, Christian Loriaux, the Frenchman will help to develop and enhance the competitiveness of our WRC challenger, the i20 N Rally1 Hybrid.
He will also support President Kim and Cyril to determine and build Hyundai Motor Company’s future motorsport programme. To complement this, FX will steer the transformations we require in order to create state-of-the-art motorsport capabilities.
“I am tremendously excited to start this new role with Hyundai Motorsport,” said FX. “I relish this challenge and look forward to working with the personnel who have already achieved great things in WRC and their customer racing programmes.”
[Note: The story is as per press release]