Kevin Abbring (born 20 January 1989) is a Dutch

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sports ...

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

Career

Abbring started his motorsport career in Rallycross 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. He also made his World Rally Championship debut in a

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, popularly referred to as the 'Evo', is a sports sedan and rally car based on the Lancer that was manufactured by Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors from 1992 until 2016. There have been ten official versio ...

. In 2008 he began competing in the Junior World Rally Championship in a

Renault Clio R3 The Renault Clio () is a supermini car (B-segment), 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 cons ...

, with backing from KNAF Talent First. He took his first JWRC win on the

2009 Rally Poland The 2009 ORLEN Platinum Rally Poland was the 66th running of the Rally Poland and the eighth round of the 2009 World Rally Championship season. Rally Poland had previously been part of the WRC schedule during the inaugural 1973 season. The rally ...

, on his way to fourth in the final standings for 2009. In 2010 he won the JWRC in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. He has also competed in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, winning the 2WD category in

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) 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 co ...

and Zlín. 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 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 The 2011 Wales Rally GB, formally the 67th Wales Rally of Great Britain, was the thirteenth and final round of the 2011 World Rally Championship season. The rally took place over 10–13 November, and was based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wal ...

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. 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 supermini car (B-segment in Europe) produced by the French automaker Peugeot. Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2012 and positioned below bigger 308 and above smaller 108. The 208 replaced the 207 in 2012, and the ca ...

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 Champions ...

offering him a drive in the European Rally Championship 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

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, (where he finished 2nd after falling back from the lead with mechanical issues) and the Tour de Corse, where he finished 3rd. In January 2015, it was announced he would be the main testdriver for Hyundai Motorsport in the World Rally Championship. 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: ** WTEM, a radio station (980 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 Challen ...

, at the wheel of a Peugeot 208 R5.

Results

Complete FIA World Rallycross Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

)

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