Kevin Abbring (born 20 January 1989) is a Dutch

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sport ...

driver. His father, Edwin Abbring, is also a well-known former rally driver.

Career

Abbring started his motorsport career in

Rallycross Rallycross is a form of sprint style motorsport held on a mixed-surface circuit (racing), racing circuit using modified production touring automobile, cars or prototype racing cars. It began in the 1960s as a cross between rallying and autocross ...

with a 60 bhp strong buggy for newcomers, winning the 2005 and 2006 titles of the Dutch Ford RST series. In 2007 he competed in the Dutch Rally Championship with a

Mitsubishi Colt The Mitsubishi Colt is a nameplate from Mitsubishi Motors that has been applied to a number of automobiles since 1962. It was first introduced with a series of Kei car, kei and subcompact cars in the 1960s, and then for the export version of the ...

. He also made his

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...

debut in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. In 2008 he began competing in the

Junior World Rally Championship The FIA Junior WRC Championship is an international rallying series restricted to drivers under 29 years old, running within the framework of the World Rally Championship. The series is governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobi ...

in a

Renault Clio R3 The Renault Clio () is a supermini (B-segment) car, produced by French automobile manufacturer Renault. It was launched in 1990, and entered its fifth generation in 2019. The Clio has had substantial critical and commercial success, being consi ...

, with backing from KNAF Talent First. He took his first JWRC win on the 2009 Rally Poland, on his way to fourth in the final standings for 2009. In 2010 he won the JWRC in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. He has also competed in the

Intercontinental Rally Challenge The Intercontinental Rally Challenge was an Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA-sanctioned rallying series organised by SRW Events and Eurosport, Eurosport Events, and aimed to "give new opportunities to young or amateur rally drivers ...

, winning the 2WD category in

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

and

Zlín Zlín (in 1949–1989 Gottwaldov; ; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 75,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Zlín Region and it lies on the Dřevnice River. It is known as an industrial centre. The development of the modern city ...

. In October 2011 Abbring won the Driver of the academy award for the inaugural FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy. After a successful trial rally for

Volkswagen Motorsport The Volkswagen R Motorsport was a works rally team of the Germany, German car manufacturer Volkswagen, who competed in the World Rally Championship (WRC) and Dakar Rally. The team started competing in WRC in 1978 World Rally Championship season ...

driving a

Škoda Fabia S2000 The Škoda Fabia S2000 is a Super 2000 rally car built by Škoda Motorsport. It is based upon the Škoda Fabia road car. History It made its début at Rallye Monte Carlo 2009, with factory team Škoda Motorsport and drivers Jan Kopecký and ...

car at 2011 Wales Rally GB he signed with Volkswagen for the 2012 WRC season driving one of their Fabia's, sharing the second seat alongside Sebastien Ogier with

Andreas Mikkelsen Andreas Mikkelsen (born 22 June 1989) is a Norwegian rally driver. He is currently competing in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT. He previously drove for the factory teams of Volkswagen and Citroën, finishing third in th ...

. Sadly, he was offered very few outings by VW in 2012 and didn't rally in the WRC at all in 2013. In 2013 he won the French

Peugeot 208 The Peugeot 208 is a subcompact car (B-segment in Europe) produced by the French automaker Peugeot. Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2012 and positioned below the larger 308, the 208 replaced the 207 in 2012, and is currently at its se ...

Rally Cup, leading to

Peugeot Sport Peugeot Sport is the department of French carmaker Peugeot responsible for motorsport activities. History Beginnings in rallying Peugeot Sport was formed in 1981 under the name of Peugeot Talbot Sport, after Jean Todt, a World Rally Champion ...

offering him a drive in the

European Rally Championship The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an rallying, automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The champion ...

in their new Peugeot 208 T16 R5 car. Plagued with technical issues, Abbring took the lead in 5 ERC events, but was forced to retire with engine trouble on all event except

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

, (where he finished 2nd after falling back from the lead with mechanical issues) and the

Tour de Corse The Tour de Corse is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was the French round of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season until 2008, was part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge from 2011 to 2012, and ...

, where he finished 3rd. In January 2015, it was announced he would be the main testdriver for

Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai Motorsport GmbH (HMSG; ) is a division of South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Company responsible for the brand's global motorsport activities. The company was established in December 2012 and is based in Alzenau, Germany. Their princi ...

in the

. While his main focus would be the development of the new Hyundai i20 WRC, Abbring and Seb Marshall were also entered on selected

WRC WRC may refer to: Broadcasting stations * WRC-TV, a television station (virtual channel 4, digital channel 34) licensed to Washington, D.C., United States * Several radio stations in the Washington, D.C. area: ** WWRC, a radio station (570 AM) l ...

events later in the year. He took his first stage win and first points at the 2016 13º Rally d'Italia Sardinia. He won his first international rally at the wheel of a Hyundai i20 R5 at the French Rallye du Var in 2016. In 2017, he was the first Dutchman ever to win the biggest rally of Belgium, the

Ypres Rally The Belgium Ypres Westhoek Rally (BYWR) founded by Frans Thévelin in 1965 is one of the most famous rallies in the European Rally Championship, the Belgian Rally Championship, the British Rally Championship, and the Intercontinental Rally Challe ...

, at the wheel of a Peugeot 208 R5.

Results

Complete FIA World Rallycross Championship results

( key)

Supercar/RX1

WRC results

WRC-2 results

JWRC results

ERC results

Overall rally victories

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbring, Kevin Living people 1989 births Dutch rally drivers World Rally Championship drivers World Rallycross Championship drivers Intercontinental Rally Challenge drivers FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy drivers European Rally Championship drivers Peugeot Sport drivers Saintéloc Racing drivers Hyundai Motorsport drivers Volkswagen Motorsport drivers