INDIA in F1

Tag: Hyundai i20

  • Ott Tanak leads as Dani Sordo slips: Rally Portugal

    Ott Tanak leads as Dani Sordo slips: Rally Portugal

    Lousada (Portugal), 21 May 2021: Hyundai driver Ott Tänak maintained his composure and erred on the side of caution when necessary to hold a lead of six seconds after eight special stages of the 54th Vodafone Rally of Portugal on Friday.
     
    The three Hyundai i20 Coupés looked set to dominate the first leg. Dani Sordo led the rally from the end of stage two to the start of the seventh special, but tyre wear and a costly stall were expensive for the Spaniard and he slipped behind Tänak and Toyota’s Elfyn Evans before the final stage at Lousada.
     
    Sordo erred on the side of caution on the final special as well and finished the leg nine seconds off the lead in third place.
     
    The i20s had been the class of the field during the first loop, but Thierry Neuville was over ambitious with a pace-note in stage seven, slid wide, clouted a tree stump and lost over three and a half minutes coaxing the car to the stage finish. The crew worked in vain on the car on the road section, but had already plummeted from third to ninth when they were forced to retire from the day’s action. 
     
    Evans, Kalle Rovanperä and Takamoto Katsuta were locked in their own mini battle for fourth, fifth and sixth places for much of the day in a trio of Toyotas. They traded times until Evans made his move and Katsuta staked his climb on fourth place at the night halt. Rovanperä finished the day in sixth.
     
    Starting first on the road was a distinct disadvantage for defending FIA World Champion Sébastien Ogier and he ceded time to his rivals throughout the day, despite winning the seventh stage. The Frenchman did manage to pass Adrien Fourmaux on the second loop of stages and moved up to sixth after Neuville’s issues and he displaced Rovanperä in SS7. But the fifth-placed Toyota Yaris driver still has his work cut out to make this trip to northern Portugal a fruitful one for his title aspirations.
     
    Gus Greensmith showed impressive pace on three stages in particular in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta, but a time-consuming rear puncture ruined the Briton’s progress and he reached the night halt in seventh after passing Fourmaux when the Frenchman also collected a flat tyre.
     
    A puncture ruined Mads Østberg’s ambitions in FIA WRC2 as well and the driver of the TRT World Rally Team-run Citroën C3 could only watch frustratingly as the flying Finns, Esapekka Lappi and Teemu Suninen, battled it out with Nikolay Gryazin for supremacy. The latter was the revelation on the opening day but his Movisport team-mate Lappi held on to take a 2.2-second lead into the night halt in his Volkswagen Polo GTi and held ninth overall. Suninen finished the day a further 7.6 seconds behind in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta Mk II.
     
    Yohan Rossel (Citroën) held a slender 3.5-second advantage over Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Škoda) in FIA WRC3 after eight stages. Nicolas Ciamin (Citroën) and Chris Ingram (Škoda) were third and fourth.
     
    Finland’s Sami Pajari held a lead of 22.3 seconds over Czech driver Martin Koči  in the FIA Junior WRC category after seven stages. Latvia’s Martin Sesks was third, but the Ford Fiesta series-leading Jon Armstrong dropped over four minutes and lost his early advantage in stage six.

  • Ott Tanak extends lead: Arctic Rally Finland

    Ott Tanak extends lead: Arctic Rally Finland

    27 Feb 2021: Ott Tänak mastered Saturday’s second leg of Arctic Rally Finland to carry a substantial lead into Sunday’s finale.

    The Estonian won three of the six superfast snow and ice speed tests in his Hyundai i20 to add to Friday’s opening leg double. He heads Kalle Rovanperä by 24.1sec with two more remaining at this second round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

    His joy was in contrast to the disappointment suffered by World Champion Sébastien Ogier. The championship leader buried his Toyota Yaris into a snowbank 200 metres from the end of the closing test and plunged off the leaderboard as he battled for 20min to dig it out.

    Tänak stretched his advantage to 23.6sec after winning two of this morning’s three stages in perfect winter conditions in Lapland’s forests. He held the Finnish youngster and a fast-closing Thierry Neuville at bay this afternoon to put himself in a strong position.

    Despite overnight set-up changes to his Yaris, Rovanperä remained frustrated with his car’s balance. He yielded a few seconds after swiping a snowbank and after winning the penultimate stage, he came under fierce pressure from a charging Neuville in the final test.

    The Belgian’s tyre strategy worked to perfection and he was quickest by more than 12sec to slash Rovanpera’s advantage to 1.8sec. It was a better afternoon for Neuville who earlier struggled to hear co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe’s pace notes above his i20’s engine noise.

    Team-mate Craig Breen found tyre management more tricky as conditions worsened this afternoon. With frozen gravel poking through the ice and loose snow on the surface, the Irishman fell back to fourth, almost 30sec adrift of Neuville.

    Toyota’s Elfyn Evans broke Tänak’s run of stage wins this morning but the Welshman also struggled to manage his tyres and admitted he was often too cautious. He was 10.1sec behind Breen.

    Oliver Solberg surpassed all expectations on his FIA WRC World Rally Car debut. The 19-year-old was a stunning third in the opening stage and returned to the Rovaniemi base in sixth – despite losing his glasses ahead of the final stage!

    Takamoto Katsuta finished 7.6sec behind after a daylong scrap with Solberg and Ogier, with Ford Fiesta duo Teemu Suninen and Gus Greensmith next up. FIA WRC2 leader Esapekka Lappi completed the leaderboard in a Skoda Fabia.

    Lorenzo Bertelli retired his Fiesta after plunging into a snowbank in the opening stage, while Pierre-Louis Loubet exited with technical troubles after doing the same later on.

    In FIA WRC2, Andreas Mikkelsen, driving a Skoda Fabia Rally2 for Toksport, pushed hard to stay on Lappi’s tail. The Norwegian admitted he was already driving on the limit and didn’t have much more to give. Nikolay Gryazin is 36.0sec behind Mikkelsen in third.

    In the FIA WRC3 class, home hero Teemu Asunmaa still leads the way, 12.5sec ahead of Estonia’s Egon Kaur and with a comfortable advantage of 1min and 18sec over another fellow Finn, Eerik Pietarinen.

    Sunday’s finale comprises two runs of the 22.47km Aittajärvi test, south of Rovaniemi. The second pass forms the live TV Wolf Power Stage, with bonus points up for grabs for the top five drivers and manufacturers.

    The provisionnal classification can be consulted here.

  • Dani Sordo extends lead; Neuville, Ogier fight over 2nd

    Dani Sordo extends lead; Neuville, Ogier fight over 2nd

    Sardinia, 10 October 2020: Dani Sordo increased his lead on Rally Italia Sardegna as he continued to deliver a strong performance on Saturday morning.

    The Hyundai driver set the fastest time in SS8 Coiluna-Loelle 1, the morning’s second stage, and completed the loop of four stages with an advantage of 31.6 seconds at the head of the field.

    Teemu Suninen began the day in second position in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta but lost the use of his handbrake and faded to fifth place. That opened the door for the championship contenders, with Sébastien Ogier winning both passes of the Monte Lerno test in his Toyota as he moved past Thierry Neuville and into second overall.

    Neuville struck back on SS10 with the fastest time to get back into second place, three second ahead of Ogier who reported a stall in one corner on the final test of the loop.

    No longer having to run first on the road, championship leader Elfyn Evans showed stronger pace this morning as he moved up into fourth ahead of Suninen, 19.6s behind Ogier.

    Gus Greensmith was holding sixth place for M-Sport but failed to start SS10 due to an alternator issue. That gave another position to Ott Tänak as the Hyundai driver progressively recovers from the suspension problem he had on Friday morning.

    Tänak had earlier also moved ahead of the privately-entered i20 WRC of Pierre-Louis Loubet.

    Kalle Rovanperä crashed out of ninth position on SS8, hitting two trees with the rear of his Toyota.

    Pontus Tidemand in 11th overall continues to lead FIA WRC2 over his Toksport WRT Škoda team-mate Eyvind Brynildsen and Ole-Christian Veiby after Adrien Fourmaux stopped on SS9.

    Just 0.1s separate Jari Huttunen and Kajetan Kajetanowicz at the front of FIA WRC3, with Oliver Solberg, now in 3rd, 4.9s from the lead after a puncture cost him first place in SS9.

    Sweden’s Tom Kristensson now has a comfortable advantage in FIA Junior WRC after rival Sami Pajari stopped in the morning’s first test with a broken driveshaft. He leads Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zaldivar and Latvia’s Mārtiņš Sesks.

  • Dani Sordo-Carlos del Barrio bring unexpected victory for Hyundai: WRC Rally Italia

    Dani Sordo-Carlos del Barrio bring unexpected victory for Hyundai: WRC Rally Italia

    Dani Sordo (Carlos) takes the unexpected win for Hyundai in 2019 FIA World Rally Championship
    Round 08. Photo: Austral/ Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

    Alghero, Sardinia (Italy), 16 June 2019: Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio have taken victory on a dramatic final test of Rally Italia Sardegna after Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja slowed and spun in the Power Stage with a steering issue.

    It is the second win in the Hyundai driver’s FIA WRC career. Teemu Suninen and Jarmo Lehtinen claim second for M-Sport Ford in their first event together, while Sordo’s team-mates Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jaeger complete the podium after passing Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin in the last stage.

    Tänak fell to fifth position but does take the championship lead away from Sébastien Ogier… if he makes it to Parc Fermé to close the final road section.

    Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen are also celebrating a hat-trick in the FIA WRC 2 Pro class, leading Jan Kopecký and Pavel Dresler in a second consecutive one-two finish for Škoda.

    Pierre-Louis Loubet and Vincent Landais have taken their second straight win in FIA WRC 2 after the retirement of the overnight leaders Takamoto Katsuta and Daniel Barritt due to a fire caused by oil leaking from their engine.

    Jan Solans and Mauro Barreiro have scored the FIA Junior WRC win after getting ahead of Dennis Rådström and Johan Johansson on the final day.

    Hyundai Motorsport Report:
    Hyundai Motorsport has taken its third victory of the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) after a dramatic conclusion to Rally Italia Sardegna that saw Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio crowned winners.The Spanish crew headed into the final morning aiming to secure second place after a competitive weekend. However, problems for rally leader Ott Tänak on the Power Stage saw the Estonian drop down the order. Having secured the runner-up position, Sordo was unexpectedly elevated to the top spot as a result of Tänak’s woes to claim his first victory for Hyundai Motorsport and the second WRC win of his career.

    Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jæger-Amland had their sights set on fourth place but had to dig deep to overturn a 14-second deficit to Elfyn Evans. The Norwegians went about the challenge in style, taking a clean sweep of stage wins on the final morning. Their efforts were further rewarded as they moved up into third place to claim their second podium of 2019 as part of a Hyundai Motorsport 1-3.

    Sunday’s itinerary included two runs through the 14.06km Cala Flumini and 6.89km Sassari-Argentiera stages, narrow, dusty and fast routes that put an emphasis on precision and commitment. The final run acted as the rally’s Power Stage, offering additional points towards the drivers’ championship with Mikkelsen scoring the maximum five points (for the first time since Spain 2015) and Thierry Neuville, who ended the rally in sixth place, picking up three extra points.

    The surprise result sees Hyundai Motorsport extend its lead in the WRC manufacturers’ standings to 46 points over Toyota Gazoo Racing. Neuville retains third place in the drivers’ table on 143 points, three behind Sébastien Ogier and seven adrift of Tänak with six events left of the season.

    Crew Notes: Dani Sordo/Carlos del Barrio (#6 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

    • First victory as a Hyundai Motorsport driver, second of Spaniard’s career
    • 25 points gives the team a much-needed boost in the manufacturers’ standings
    Sordo said: “This is incredible. I have no words; it’s just an amazing feeling to take my first win for Hyundai and the second WRC win of my career. Of course, I am very sorry for Ott and Toyota to have experienced such bad luck on the Power Stage. At the same time, we knew we had to keep the pressure on in case this sort of situation occurred. I just can’t believe it happened. We have been quick and consistent all weekend. There was no chance to beat Ott on outright pace so we just did what we could and avoided mistakes. It wasn’t easy but we made it through to the end – and we now have this fantastic victory as a reward. Thanks to Carlos and to the team for the support and for sharing this result. I think it will take some time to fully sink in.” Crew Notes: Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger-Amland (#89 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

    • Clean sweep of stage wins including Mikkelsen’s first Power Stage win since Spain 2015
    • Third place result marks crew’s second podium of 2019 season
    Mikkelsen said: “We gave it a massive push on the final morning in an effort to cut the gap to Elfyn Evans. We had to dig deep but we were confident in our chances. The car felt really nice and we were properly in the zone. Taking all four stage wins was a fantastic feeling and we would have been content to take fourth. Unfortunately, Ott had his issues, which then handed us a podium finish, which was an unexpected but very welcome bonus. Although it has been achieved at one of our rival’s expense, we are grateful to score a 1-3 result this weekend.”    Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (#11 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

    • Sixth place and three extra Power Stage points keeps Neuville in drivers’ title chase
    • Difficult weekend prevented Belgians from capturing their usual performance level

     Neuville said: “Absolutely not the weekend we were looking for. We have not been in the fight, so it’s been a case of damage limitation. A combination of incorrect tyre choice and other issues on Friday put us on the back foot from the start, and we’ve not been able to play a role since. We have to put it down to ‘one of those weekends’ and look to regroup and fight back in Finland. We pushed as hard as we could in the Power Stage but we could do no more. Congratulations to Dani; we have worked together at Hyundai for six years now and I am really pleased to see him and Carlos secure their first win for the team.”

    Team Director Andrea Adamo: “Personally, I find this result quite difficult to accept. Firstly, we extend our empathy to everyone at Toyota Gazoo Racing, to Tommi, Ott and Martin, for the cruel way that they had a deserved victory taken away from them. For the second time this season, we have inherited a victory that we did not earn on the road. We should not have to rely on unreliability to secure these results. I appreciate that I am perhaps looking at things too much through a sympathetic lens but this is the reality of the situation. At the same time, I am pleased for Dani and Carlos who have worked professionally all weekend, as have all our three crews, to put themselves in a position to capitalise on today’s situation.”

    Next Rally

    • WRC takes its traditional summer break before the championship resumes with Rally Finland August 1-4
    • The popular event will be the fifth consecutive gravel rally on the 2019 calendar, with six weeks for teams and crews to prepare for the extreme high-speed challenge.
    Final Overall Classification – Rally Italia Sardegna
    1 D. Sordo C. del Barrio Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3:32:27.2
    2 T. Suninen J. Lehtinen Ford Fiesta WRC +13.7
    3 A. Mikkelsen A. Jæger-Amland Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +32.6
    4 E. Evans S. Martin Ford Fiesta WRC +33.5
    5 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC +1:30.1
    6 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +2:16.7
    7 E. Lappi J. Ferm Citroën C3 WRC +2:59.6
    8 K. Meeke S. Marshall Toyota Yaris WRC +4:40.1
    9 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Škoda Fabia R5 +8:24.6
    10 J. Kopecky P. Dresler Škoda Fabia R5 +8:49.2
    2019 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings 
    After round 8
    1 O. Tanak 150
    2 S. Ogier 146
    3 T. Neuville 143
    4 E. Evans 78
    5 T. Suninen 62
    6 K. Meeke 60
    7 A. Mikkelsen 56
    8 D. Sordo 52
    9 E. Lappi 40
    10 J.M Latvala 40
    11 S.Loeb 39

    2019 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
    After round 8

    1 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 242
    2 Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 198
    3 Citroën Total World Rally Team 170
    4 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 152

    All results remain subject to official FIA confirmation.

  • Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul take lead on Saturday: WRC Round 4

    Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul take lead on Saturday: WRC Round 4

    Thierry Neuville, and co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul take lead on Saturday. Image: Hyundai Motorsport

    Bastia (Corsica), 30 March 2019: Hyundai Motorsport has moved into the lead of Tour de Corse after a dramatic penultimate day of action in the fourth round of the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).

    Belgians Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul hold a 4.5-second lead over Elfyn Evans with two stages left to run on Sunday morning. Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio remain in a close fight for the podium, in fourth place overall, while Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena finished Saturday’s schedule in eighth position.

    On the longest day of Tour de Corse, crews tackled almost 175km of competitive tarmac stages. A loop of three stages started with a 25.62km run through Cap Corse and the shorter 14.45km Désert des Agriates test, before culminating with the monster 47.18km Castagniccia.

    The trio of Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team crews all set times inside the top-three during the day. Sordo claimed a stage win in the first Castagniccia stage (SS9), while Neuville took honours with impressive runs in the two final stages of the afternoon loop.

    Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (#11 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

    • Stage wins in SS11 (Désert des Agriates) and SS12 (Castagniccia)
    • Belgians moved into the rally lead with an impressive performance on the final stage
    Neuville said: “We have had a really good day and I am delighted we can finish Saturday in the lead of the rally. Anything can happen when people are driving on the edge. This is a long and demanding rally so it’s important to stay focused. This morning, during the long stage particularly, we couldn’t really find the feeling we wanted, but things came good in the afternoon. When you have the right rhythm in the car, it’s possible to set fast times without taking risks. That’s exactly what we could do and we now need to defend our lead on Sunday. It won’t be easy but we’ll certainly give it our best shot!”Crew Notes: Dani Sordo/Carlos del Barrio (#6 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

    • Stage win for the Spaniards in the first run through Castagniccia (SS9)
    • Competitive battle for the final podium position with five-second gap to Ogier
    Sordo said: “We had a very strong opening loop this morning. My pace notes were very clear and we showed our potential with the fastest time in the long Castagniccia stage. I had a great feeling and the car was very nice to drive. We didn’t manage the same advantage in the repeat loop, as others seemed to make up more time, but we are pleased to enter the final morning in a close fight for the podium. Ogier made up a lot of time on us in the final stage today but we know we can also find some gains, so it promises to be a big battle tomorrow. We’ll try our best.”Crew Notes: Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (#19 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

    • Another day of improvements for the nine-time world champions following an off into the ditch in SS9
    • Crew worked hard on car set-up to make positive gains during the day
    Loeb said: “We are not in the same rally as everyone else after our issues on Friday, so we have used today to improve our feeling with the car. Things started well but on the long stage in the morning loop we had a tricky moment. I understeered in a left-hander, which tightened, and I couldn’t turn which then sent us into a ditch. We lost a lot of time getting going again. The afternoon followed the same strategy to make adjustments to the car. Things were not perfect all the time but for the majority of stages we had a good car and a nice feeling. We will continue in this way tomorrow and aim to finish on a positive note.”  Team Director Andrea Adamo: “Honestly speaking it is good that Thierry and Nicolas are leading Tour de Corse in a Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, although we have to admit we have some work to do on improving the car to match their level. They did a truly fantastic job and they deserve their lead. We find ourselves in first and fourth place overall at the end of Saturday but as we have seen anything can happen; it’s not over yet!”

    Sunday at a glance

    • Two stages remain on the Tour de Corse itinerary, with no opportunity for respite.
    • A long 31.85km run through Eaux de Zilia will start the day in style before the rally concludes with the 19.34km Power Stage at Calvi.
    Classification after Day Two
    1 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2:56:50.0
    2 E. Evans S. Martin Ford Fiesta WRC +4.5
    3 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia Citroën C3 WRC +44.8
    4 D. Sordo C. del Barrio Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +49.9
    5 T. Suninen M. Salminen Ford Fiesta WRC +1:32.1
    6 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC +1:54.5
    7 E. Lappi J. Ferm Citroën C3 WRC +1:59.3
    8 S. Loeb D. Elena Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +3:21.4
    9 K. Meeke S. Marshall Toyota Yaris WRC +3:55.9
    10 J.M Latvala M. Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC +6:35.4
  • Neuville snatches dramatic win over Ogier to extend WRC title lead

    Neuville snatches dramatic win over Ogier to extend WRC title lead

    Thierry Neuville reacts after scoring a sensational win over Sebastien Ogier in the Rally Italia Sardegna. Photo: WRC

    Alghero, 10 June 2018: Thierry Neuville snatched a thrilling Rally Italia Sardegna victory on Sunday afternoon after edging WRC title rival Sebastien Ogier in an electrifying shootout in the final speed test. He trailed Ogier by 0.8sec ahead of the 6.96 kms test, but delivered a daredevil drive in his Hyundai i20 to overhaul the Frenchman and claim his third win of the season by 0.7sec. Neuville extended his championship lead over Ogier to 27 points.

    Esapekka Lappi finished third in a Toyota Yaris, a further 1min 51.3sec behind. The results remain provisional after a bizarre incident at the finish of the penultimate stage when Ogier hurriedly departed in his Ford Fiesta without collecting his time card. It was later delivered to him by Ott Tänak. It was a breach of regulations which prohibit the crew receiving items from a third party.

    After investigating the issue, stewards removed the 22 points Ogier and Ingrassia gained from the rally and the 18 earned by their M-Sport Ford team. The penalty was suspended, meaning it will only be applied if the pair repeat the offence before the end of the season. They were also fined 10,000 Euros. The decision means Ogier remains 27 points adrift of Neuville with six rounds remaining.

    Ingrassia admitted his mistake at the hearing. He said they left the stage finish without checking the time card had been returned by marshals and when he realised the error, it was too late to return to the finish line by car or on foot. Stewards accepted it was a genuine mistake which had no effect on the performance of their Ford Fiesta.

    Neuville won the final live TV Power Stage to claim five bonus points. Ogier took four points for second with Ott Tänak scoring three in third in a Yaris. Andreas Mikkelsen and Elfyn Evans took two and one point respectively.

    It was the third smallest winning margin in the WRC’s 45-year history, matching Neuville’s dramatic success in Argentina last year when he performed a similar snatch and grab on Elfyn Evans.

    The Belgian started the sun-kissed short final leg along Sardinia’s north-west coast 3.9sec adrift of Ogier. He won the opening three tests before both drivers threw caution to the wind in the finale. Both made mistakes on the dusty, rocky tracks but Neuville emerged on top.

    “I gave it everything, it was a really great fight and such a small difference at the end,” he said. “We needed to make a decision at the start of the last stage and our decision was to go for the win. We believed strongly and pushed hard.”

    Ogier was far from downhearted. “We lost one battle but definitely not the war. It’s not the time to panic. I tried everything I could today but I was always losing a few tenths here and there,” he said.

    Kopecky takes third WRC 2 win of the season

    Jan Kopecky on a high after enjoying a comfortable win in WRC 2, his third of the season. Photo: WRC

    A clean run through the final day of the rally enabled Jan Kopecky to seal his third WRC 2 win of the year by more than three minutes. After Stéphane Lefebvre’s retirement on Saturday, the Skoda Motorsport driver knew all he had to do was clear Sunday’s four stages cleanly to claim victory, and that is exactly what he did. He kept his Fabia R5 out of trouble on the rocky and rutted roads to win by 3m 02.6sec.

    Twenty-five points for victory keeps Kopecky second in the drivers’ standings, behind team-mate Pontus Tidemand. But with the Swede not participating in Italy, the gap between them slims to 18 points.

    “The feeling is really nice because the Czech fans are everywhere here,” Kopecký explained. “The rally didn’t start completely perfect, but we’ve been fast the rest of the weekend and there were no mistakes.”

    Ole Christian Veiby…..brilliant run. Photo: WRC

    Ole Christian Veiby secured runner-up spot in the second Skoda Motorsport Fabia R5. The Norwegian claimed a hat-trick of stage wins to add to his six from Saturday as he overhauled Hyundai i20 driver Nicolas Ciamin on the rally’s penultimate stage.

    Ciamin claimed the final podium spot, deciding to focus on bringing the car home in one piece as the gravel tracks got rougher on the second run and rocks were pulled onto the racing line.

    Pierre-Louis Loubet was one of the drivers caught out by the rough conditions in his i20 R5, he lost more than two minutes on the second run of the 14.06km Cala Flumini stage. That dropped him from fourth to sixth as Fabio Andolfi and Lukasz Pieniazek both squeezed their Skodas into the top five, despite a stall for the latter on the same stage.

    Loubet’s woes were compounded when he was forced to retire at final control. That promoted Benito Guerra to sixth after his retirement yesterday. Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Lefebvre rounded out the finishers – the Frenchman showing strong pace in his Citroën C3 R5 by claiming fastest WRC 2 time in the Sassari-Argentiera Live TV Power Stage.

    Toyota development driver Takamoto Katsuta retired on SS17 with a broken driveshaft in his Ford Fiesta R5, while Simone Tempestini was unable to restart after mechanical issues with his Citroën on Saturday.

  • Rally Italia Sardegna: Gaurav Gill shows good pace; Ogier, Neuville locked for title

    Rally Italia Sardegna: Gaurav Gill shows good pace; Ogier, Neuville locked for title

    Gaurav Gill with M-Sport team principal Malcolm Wilson, OBE, at the Rally Italia Sardegna. Photo: M-Sport

    Alghero, 09 June 2018: Having taken a restart after retiring yesterday following a hard nose-dive on SS-5, Indian champion Gaurav Gill showed why his credentials should not be taken lightly as the three times Asia Pacific Rally Champion showed impressive pace to end Leg 2 of the Rally Italia Sardegna in 14th spot among RC2 cars.

    Gill, the 36-year old from Delhi, backed by MRF Tyres and with Aussie Glenn Macneall as his co-driver, enjoyed a much better outing in the M-Sport Ford Fiesta R5 today when seven Special Stages were run and despite suffering mechanical problems early in the day.

    He was 11th quickest in SS-11, 10th in SS-12, fourth in SS-13, ninth in SS-14, 10th in SS-15 and ninth in SS-16 to finish Leg 2 in 15th position. Having re-started under Super Rally format, but with a heavy time penalty, Gill seemed determined to show that he belonged at this level and his pace on some of the Stages underlined the long-held belief that he could more than hold his own on the World stage.

    As a non-priority driver, Gill, participating in WRC 2 is not eligible for points, but will be classified.

    World champion Sebastien Ogier looking hot . Photo: WRC

    Ogier leads Neuville by just 3.9secs in WRC!

    Title rivals Sebastien Ogier and Theirry Neuville face a thrilling final day victory showdown after gripping duel in the sun on Saturday. They traded seconds across seven dusty and rocky speed tests in the north of the Mediterranean island before Ogier finished with a slender 3.9sec advantage. Neuville, who heads Ogier in the WRC championship battle by 19 points, claimed three stage victories in his Hyundai i20, compared to Ogier’s two at the wheel of a Ford Fiesta.

    Ogier extended his overnight advantage to almost 20sec before an overly-cautious drive through the famous Monte Lerno stage cut his lead to less than 5sec. As temperatures soared this afternoon, in contrast to yesterday’s torrential rain, both had problems. Ogier stalled his engine at the Ittiri stage start while Neuville punctured in the next test. With just one spare tyre onboard, he had no room for error in the final two stages.

    “It’s so tight,” said Ogier. “It was a big push for me this afternoon because I was so angry with the last stage this morning. All the time I lost to Thierry was there. There’s pressure but it’s been like that all weekend and if we want to win we’ll have to fight for it.”

    Thierry Neuville pushing hard. Photo: WRC

    Neuville said: “I knew if I had one more puncture I would lose a lot of time but it was our decision to carry on pushing. That was the risk we had to take and we managed it well – there were a couple of stones I had to avoid. The fight is open and tomorrow will be intense.”

    There were battles across the leaderboard. Jari-Matti Latvala and Toyota Gazoo team-mate Esapekka Lappi fought tooth and nail for the final podium place. Latvala’s lead never rose above 7.0sec and he ended the final stage with a 5.3sec advantage.

    However, his Yaris stopped on the liaison section back to Alghero with an alternator problem, believed to have been caused by an impact with a rock. Despite the efforts of the Finn and co-driver Miikka Anttila, they could not restart the car and retired.

    Hayden Paddon and Mads Østberg dueled for what became fourth following Latvala’s exit. Østberg began the day in front in his Citroën C3, but his Kiwi rival moved his i20 ahead and held off the Norwegian’s afternoon pursuit. The gap between them was 2.1sec.

    Craig Breen was sixth in another C3 after a frustrating day, ahead of WRC 2 leader Jan Kopecký. Ott Tänak recovered to eighth after yesterday’s engine damage, despite stopping to change a puncture in the final stage. Martin Prokop and Nicolas Ciamin completed the top 10.

    Sunday’s short finale comprises two loops of two stages along the coast north of Alghero. They add up to 42.04km, the action ending with a spectacular Power Stage which runs alongside the beach and offers bonus points to the fastest five drivers.

  • Rally de Portugal: Victory gives Thierry Neuville title lead in WRC

    Rally de Portugal: Victory gives Thierry Neuville title lead in WRC

    Thierry Neuville who scored a brilliant win in Rally de Portugal to take lead in WRC. Photo: WRC

    Matosinhos, 20 May 2018: Thierry Neuville won the Vodafone Rally de Portugal on Sunday to swing the FIA World Rally Championship pendulum firmly in his favour. Victory at the gruelling four-day dirt road encounter promoted the Belgian to the top of the standings as the series approaches its midpoint. After starting 10 points behind reigning champion Sébastien Ogier, the Belgian leaves Portugal with a 19-point advantage.

    Neuville steered his Hyundai i20 away from trouble during a weekend of attrition that sidelined many frontrunners to win by 40.0sec from Elfyn Evans’ Ford Fiesta. Fellow title challengers Ogier and Ott Tänak ended pointless after falling foul of Friday’s rock-strewn speed tests and Neuville pressed home his advantage by claiming four extra bonus points in the final Power Stage.

    He moved to the front near the end of Friday’s first leg after the lead changed hands six times in a frantic opening. He doubled his advantage yesterday and eased through Sunday’s finale to secure his second win of the year.

    “It was a clever approach all weekend,” he said. “I had a fantastic car which was working well and I felt comfortable. We can be proud of what we achieved here There are a lot of Portuguese mechanics in the team and I think the party is going to be big tonight!”

    Second for Evans eased the pressure after a disappointing season and team-mate Teemu Suninen helped erase the frustration of Ogier’s blank weekend in the M-Sport Ford squad by claiming his maiden podium. He finished 7.3sec behind the Welshman.

    Suninen held off Esapekka Lappi and Dani Sordo in an intense fight for the final podium place. Lappi was 7.4sec adrift of his fellow Finn in a Toyota Yaris with Spaniard Sordo 6.2sec further back in his i20. Sordo went to bed last night in third but woke up this morning in fourth after receiving a 10sec penalty for dislodging two bales on a Porto street stage roundabout on Friday night.

    Mads Østberg finished sixth on his first gravel rally in a Citroën C3, ahead of team-mate Craig Breen who was handicapped by starting first on the sandy tracks for the final two legs.

    WRC 2 winner Pontus Tidemand was eighth in a Skoda Fabia and fellow support category drivers Lukasz Pieniazek and Stéphane Lefebvre completed the leaderboard.

    Andreas Mikkelsen and Jari-Matti Latvala finished well down the order after retiring on Friday, while Ogier was withdrawn in the final service when lying outside the top 20. Hayden Paddon and Kris Meeke joined Tänak in retiring earlier in the weekend.

    Round seven promises a high-summer shootout on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. The all-gravel Rally Italia Sardegna is based in Alghero on June 8-10.

    Third WRC 2 title for Pontus Tidemand

    Pontus Tidemand on a charge. Photo: WRC

    Starting the final leg with 1m 19.4sec in hand over fellow Skoda Fabia R5 driver Lukasz Pieniazek, the Swede Tidemand took two stage wins on Sunday to finish more than two minutes ahead of the rest of the field. Pieniazek settled for second on the final day, deciding to manage his advantage over third-placed Stéphane Lefebvre rather than needlessly chasing the commanding Tidemand.

    Lefebvre pushed hard to try and catch his Polish rival and was quickest during the first run through the Fafe test on Sunday. But the Frenchman ran out of stages to complete his attack and finished 17.0sec behind in his Citroën C3 R5.

    “It didn’t look so good on Friday, but we went out and pushed as hard as we could. We went into Saturday with good speed, no problems, and won all the stages,” Tidemand explained. “The conditions were quite hard on the tyres, many people had punctures and many drivers also made a mistake and hit something – it was not an easy rally.”

    Pierre-Louis Loubet finished just off the podium in fourth after a clean run through the final five stages in his Hyundai i20 R5. He was helped when his closest challenger, Hiroki Arai, was handed a 60sec penalty for checking into a time control six minutes late.

    The Japanese Toyota development driver still completed the rally in fifth place in Ford Fiesta R5, albeit only 9.5sec ahead of Juuso Nordgren who went second fastest in the Live TV Power Stage.

    Gus Greensmith was eighth, just behind Benito Guerra. The Briton had led earlier in the weekend but retired before the Amarante 2 test on Saturday with steering arm failure. He rejoined on the final day and salvaged some pride by taking a pair of stage wins in his Fiesta.

     

  • Rally de Portugal: Thierry Neuville takes control, extends lead

    Rally de Portugal: Thierry Neuville takes control, extends lead

    Thierry Neuville….well placed to claim victory in Rally de Portugal. Photo: WRC

    Matosinhos, 19 May 2018: Thierry Neuville gave his World title hopes a major boost after doubling his lead in Saturday’s penultimate leg of the Vodafone Rally de Portugal. He starts Sunday’s short finale with a 39.8sec advantage in his Hyundai i20, and victory would propel him back to the head of the FIA World Rally Championship for the first time since February.

    Conditions were more benign than yesterday when rock-strewn dirt roads caused carnage among the frontrunners, and the Belgian focused on the double pass through the 37.60km Amarante speed test, the longest of this sixth round of the series.

    He protected his Michelin tyres through the two previous stages of the morning and afternoon loops, before attacking in Amarante. He distanced closest rival Elfyn Evans on both occasions to build a comfortable advantage.

    “I was comfortable in the car, especially in the long stage. I tried to make a difference in there and it worked twice. It’s not finished yet but it could be a great weekend,” said Neuville whose conservative mix of hard and soft compound tyres was ideal for the wet final test.

    Evans won two of the day’s six stages in his Ford Fiesta, one more than Neuville, and the Welshman looked increasingly secure in second as the day progressed. He struggled for confidence in both passes through Amarante, but had a 17.4sec margin over Dani Sordo.

    The Spaniard stiffened his i20’s set-up following the morning’s opening test but slipped back into the clutches of Teemu Suninen with a final stage spin. The margin between them narrowed to 4.7sec.

    The young Suninen had a stellar day in his Ford Fiesta, holding off fellow-Finn Esapekka Lappi in a furious fight. Both were on the limit throughout as they traded seconds in every stage and Lappi ended 11.1sec adrift in his Toyota Yaris.

    Mads Østberg was a distant sixth, the Norwegian conceding almost a minute after sliding onto a bank at a muddy corner. The Citroën C3 driver was almost 1min 40sec clear of team-mate Craig Breen.

    Breen endured a tough day opening the roads in the sandy conditions but gained a place following more disappointment for Kris Meeke in the French squad’s third C3. The Ulsterman slid wide on a fast left bend and his C3 rolled heavily down a bank and into trees. Both Meeke and co-driver Paul Nagle were unhurt.

    Pontus Tidemand took the WRC 2 lead and held eighth place, ahead of fellow support category drivers Lukasz Pieniazek and Stéphane Lefebvre.

    Five more stages covering 51.53km lie in wait on Sunday, including two passes through the classic Fafe test and its famous jump. The second pass forms the Power Stage with bonus points on offer to the fastest five drivers.

    Pontus Tidemand recovers to forge ahead

    Pontus Tidemand….grand recovery to lead WRC 2. Photo: WRC

    Tidemand recovered from a disappointing Friday to claim all six Stage victories on Saturday and move into the lead of the WRC 2 category. The Skoda Fabia R5 driver started the day 1m 44.6sec off the lead in fifth place after two a double puncture yesterday, but he combined blistering pace with bad luck befalling his rivals to move his way up the order. By lunch-time service, he was second, with 49.4sec to make up to Stéphane Lefebvre. Another three wins on the afternoon loop sealed his place at the top of the class at the end of the day.
    He was helped by a puncture for Lefebvre on SS14 and then brake and transmission problems cost the C3 R5 driver more than two minutes one stage later. The Frenchman finished the day in third.

    Overnight leader Gus Greensmith had a day to forget in his Ford Fiesta. On the opening Vieira do Minho test, he had a puncture which forced him to use his spare, and then another tyre de-beaded. With no more spares, he had to be cautious through the next two stages. Having slipped to sixth, he was quickly reclaiming the time he lost but had to retire with broken suspension on the road section before the second run of Amarante.

    Benefiting from his retirement was Lukasz Pieniazek in a Fabia R5, who kept his second place despite a puncture of his own on SS14. Fourth place went to Pierre-Louis Loubet. The Hyundai i20 R5 driver had a clean run through the tests to move to within 8.0sec of compatriot Lefebvre.

    Toyota development driver Hiroki Arai grew in confidence as the day went on, with top-five stage times allowing him to claim fifth place before the final stages on Sunday. Juuso Nordgren ended the day sixth in his Fabia, despite a puncture on SS14 slowing his progress.

    Pedro Heller dropped out of the top five after a challenging day of his own. After a puncture this morning, he retired with mechanical issues 6.4km into SS15. His team-mate Nil Solans also hit trouble on the final stage, retiring at the 24.1km mark.

    Finnish ŠKODA junior Juuso Nordgren was delayed by another two punctures and are sixth after the Saturday leg.

  • Paddon drives to fourth International Rally of Whangarei win; Sumiyama tops APRC field

    Paddon drives to fourth International Rally of Whangarei win; Sumiyama tops APRC field

    Hayden Paddon, winner of International Rally of Whangarei. Photo: Geoff Ridder

    Whangarei, 6 May 2018: Fastest across all 18 of the weekend’s special stages at the ENEOS International Rally of Whangarei, WRC driver Hayden Paddon and co-driver Mal Peden clinched in their Hyundai i20, here on Sunday. Paddon comfortably won the opening round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) and the second round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC) by a margin of 7mins, 26.3secs.

    “It’s been a a very good weekend. Everything has gone according to plan and I’ve enjoyed the roads up here. The others have also done a very good job, so the event has been great. I’ve been pretty comfortable with how everything has gone this weekend and it’s paid off,” said a measured Paddon, just before lifting the kauri trophy at the ceremonial finish.

    A total of 29 cars returned to Whangarei for the ceremonial finish at the quayside town basin. Of the four international entrants, only two made to the finish after today’s eight special stages, held south of Whangarei.

    APRC topper Yuya Sumiyama. Photo: Geoff Ridder

    Running second to Paddon after the first three of the weekend stages ex-pat Kiwi Mike Young and co-driver Malcolm Read were unable to resume competition for today’s final leg, after retiring on the Saturday with radiator damage in their Toyota Vitz. Fuyuhiko Takahashi and co-driver Mitsuo Nakamura (Subaru) left the road in the morning’s third test while a mistake in the earlier loop of today’s stages by overnight leader Fabio Frisiero and Simone Scattolin in their Peugeot allowed Yuya Sumiyama and Takahiro Yasui to climb ahead in their Skoda Fabia. Sumiyama finished 11th overall while Italy’s Frisiero finished 15th.

    “I’m very very happy but very very lucky. The roads have been very fast, and I have liked the weekend. Today I just tried to go faster and I am lucky to win,” said Sumiyama.

    Contesting the New Zealand roads for a third time in his career, Frisiero said the level of competition was very high: “I’m feeling a lot better this afternoon and I’ve enjoyed it so much. It’s been the best. We tried to catch Sumiyama this afternoon but it was impossible, he was just too fast and congratulations to him for getting the win.

    “It’s also been a surprise for us to even be here, and in this position so I’m extremely happy. The roads have been very slippery and narrow in some places but very fast. You have to know the roads to be able to drive them fast and my compliments go to the NZ drivers who went very fast.”

    Standing alongside Paddon and Peden on the podium was Auckland’s Ben Hunt and Tony Rawstorn (Subaru) while Australian Rally Champion Nathan Quinn and David Calder (Ford) finished third, a further 1m04.6sec behind Hunt.

    “It’s been a fantastic weekend. To get second at Otago and second here in Whangarei is an awesome result for the team and the car – that’s come a long way. I love the roads up here and the way we hop in and out of them is fantastic – so overall it’s been a great event,” commented Hunt.

    Celebrating 30 years of APRC competition, the internationals ship their cars to Australia for the series second round: 1 – 3 June. The NZRC series heads back to the South Island for the 3 June running of the Lone Star Canterbury Rally.

    ENEOS International Rally of Whangarei Results (Top-10 Overall, provisional): 1. Hayden Paddon / Mal Peden, Hyundai i20; 2. Ben Hunt / Tony Rawstorn, Subaru WRX +04:02.4; 3. Nathan Quinn / David Calder, Ford Fiesta +05:03.3; 4. Emma Gilmour / Anthony McLaughlin, Suzuki Swift +05:08.5; 5. Dylan Turner / Sarah Breenan, Audi S1 +05:16.4; 6. Josh Marston / Andrew Graves, Holden Barina +06:04.2; 7. Eugene Creugnet  / Philippe Delrieu, Mitsubishi Lander +06:12.0; 8. Regan Ross / Samantha Gray, Ford Escort +07:27.5; 9. David Holder / Jason Farmer, Ford Fiesta +08:00.7; 10. Marcus van Klink / Dave Neill, Mazda RX8 +08:07.1.

    FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship: 1. Yuya Sumiyama / Takahiro Yasui (Skoda Fabia); 2. Fabio Frisiero / Simone Scattolin (Peugeot).