Hyundai Motorsport customer results round-up bulletin
- Hyundai Spain supported crews score back-to-back national championship victories in the Canary Islands, including a first i20 R5 1-2 finish
- Armindo Araújo takes a second consecutive win in the Portuguese championship taking maximum points from Rally de Portugal
- Victories at World, European and National level for i30 N TCR customers.
A busy few weeks for Hyundai Motorsport customers ended with multiple victories on the rally stages with the i20 R5, and the race track with the i30 n TCR, including a sensational start to the TCR Europe season.
Double win highlights i20 R5 performance in Spain
Hyundai customers scored maximum points in the Spanish tarmac championship from the series’ two back-to-back events based in the Canary Islands. A total of seven i20 R5 lined up for the start of Rally Islas Canaries (May 3-5), where the national championship shared billing with the European Rally Championship (ERC). Though the roads on the volcanic island proved to be a tough test for the field José Antonio Suárez quickly established himself among the front runners, beginning with the second best time on the opening stage. Supported by Hyundai Spain he and co-driver Cándido Carrera set a succession of good times to establish themselves in the top five at the overnight halt. Over the concluding day he protected his position to take fourth overall and score his first Spanish championship win at the wheel of a Hyundai.
Also among the leading times was the BRC Racing Team pairing Pierre-Louis Loubet and Vincent Landais, running as part of their ERC campaign. Like Suárez and Carrera their consistent times over the opening day left them strongly placed at the midway point of the event, only for a mistake to put them out of the running. Their premature exit from the race lifted Iván Ares another position in his i20 R5. Another of the five Hyundai pairings chasing Spanish championship points the combination of Ares and José Pintor fought their way into eighth overall by the end of the rally. More importantly the result also gave them third position in the national championship. Surhayen Pernía and Canary Island specialist Antonio Ponce also placed their i20 R5 in the top ten of the Spanish championship.
The rally also marked the debut of Aleksander Zawada in the i20 R5 run by MSZ Racing. Graduating to four-wheel-drive competition this year the Polish driver was focused on continuing to learn about the car as he began his campaign, centred on the U28 class of the European championship. Despite an 80 second penalty he was able to take sixth place in the category.
Only a week later four Spanish crews, led by national championship regulars Suárez, Ares and Pernía, were back in competition at the Rally Villa de Adeje (May 11-12). The trio of Hyundai-backed crews were the dominant force throughout the event, combining to win 10 of the 13 stages run. More incredibly eight times i20 R5 customers swept the top four places, with Ponce putting his local knowledge to excellent use. The teams’ superb performances, together with the reliability of the car allowed them to complete the first i20 R5 1-2 in the championship. Suarez again took the victory, with Ares in second place, moving himself into the joint championship points’ lead. Pernía, who is also supported by the local Hyundai distributor on the islands, finished fourth with Ponce sixth to complete a remarkable result.
|
|
|
National and WRC2 success at Rally de Portugal
Armindo Araújo scored a second consecutive victory in the Portuguese championship, winning the national event at Rally de Portugal (May 17-20). The Team Hyundai Portugal driver dominated the rally, taking first place by nearly three minutes overall to strengthen his championship challenge at this early point in the season. The weekend brought the national championship together with the WRC2 championship, where i20 R5 customers were again strongly represented by Pierre-Louis Loubet and Max Vatanen.
Time lost on the opening day slowed Vatanen’s progress on his debut in an i20 R5. Loubet, however, was consistent throughout the event, despite being hampered in the dust of a slower competitor on a handful of stages. Continuing his campaign in the championship with BRC Racing Team Loubet finished fourth in WRC2, the result marking his career best weekend in the championship.
|
|
|
Hyundai customers take French silverware on gravel and tarmac
There was another double success in France, as i20 R5 customers scored podiums on both gravel and tarmac. First, on the loose surface of Rallye Castine – Terre d’Occitanie (May 5-6) both Brice Tirabassi and Nicolas Ciamin took the start in Sarrazin Motorsport run cars. Though it was Tirabassi who made the strongest start, winning the first stage of the event, it was Ciamin who ended the rally with the better result, finishing third overall, and second in the R5 class.
Sarrazin Motorsport were also in action at the latest round of the French tarmac championship, running Quentin Giordano in one of four i20 R5 on the Rallye d’Antibes (May 19-20). Giordano and his co-driver, Yannick Roche, were joined on the entry list by Bryan Bouffier, running with Onyx Racing by Enjolras, Jordan Berfa and Giandomenico Basso, the Italian continuing his campaign in the Tour European Rally (TER Series).
Finishing in third position Basso was the best of the TER Series regulars. However, it was Bouffier who scored a sublime overall victory to take all-important maximum points for the national championship and grab the championship lead. The strong event for the i20 R5 was completed by Giordano in fifth, and Berfa rounding out the top ten. The performance of the i20 R5 was clear not only on the final results, but also on the stage times, with Hyundai crews winning 8 of the 12 run.
Sensational overall win for i20 R5 on Targa Florio
The Targa Florio (May 5-6) was the site of another overall win for the i20 R5 in a national championship. Entered with Bernini Rally Andrea Nucita and Marco Bozzo won five stages on the Sicilian roads, propelling them to glory on the famous event. Not only was the result a first victory for the crew on a national level rally, but it also represented the first success for the i20 R5 in the championship.
Career best for Polish crew
There was a further career best result for Łukasz Byśkiniewicz in the second round of the Polish national championship. Entering Rajd Dolnośląski (May 19-20) with co-driver Maciej Wisławski the pair finished fifth overall in their i20 R5 following a consistent run in two-day gravel event.
|
|
|
Double win for MRacing in WTCR Race of Germany
The i30 N TCR’s strong start to the FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) continued at the Race of Germany, at the Nürburging Nordschleife (May 10-12). Despite a Balance of Performance (BoP) change before the weekend Hyundai customers were still able to take both pole positions on offer at the track, and win two out of the three races.
Yvan Muller led an MRacing 1-2 in the opening race, scoring his first WTCR victory ahead of teammate Thed Bjork. The pair, together with BRC Racing Team driver Norbert Michelisz were part of a four-car group that battled for the lead throughout, the Hungarian missing out on third place – and a third i30 N TCR 1-2-3 of the year – by less than half a second.
A win for Bjork in Race 3, as well as team owner Muller’s third place, completed a very strong weekend for the French based squad, which saw them take the lead of both the teams’ championship, and Muller himself move to the head of the drivers’ standings.
Only a week later the WTCR paddock was in action again for the Race of Netherlands at Zandvoort (May 19-21). In the days between the two events a further BoP change was applied to the i30 N TCR, which seriously limited both the performance and handling of the car. As a result of this penalty both BRC Racing Team and MRacing drivers struggled to be competitive against the other manufacturers on the grid. Failing to score from the weekend the i30 N TCR drivers were left frustrated, despite a number of hard fought drives to try and make the best of the situation.
|
|
|
i30 N TCR customers off to a flying start in TCR Europe
The busy May also hosted the first two round of the newly expanding TCR Europe series, with races at Paul Ricard (May 5-6) and Zandvoort (May 19-21). The season began with eight Hyundai Motorsport customers among a 25 car grid in France. There Target Competition and Dušan Borković made the perfect start to the season. Despite only stepping into the i30 N TCR for the first time during the weekend the Serbian was immediately on the pace, scoring pole position which he converted into a Race 1 win, leading home a Hyundai 1-2 with M1RA driver Daniel Nagy taking the next step of the podium. i30 N TCR customers filled half of the top ten, with Reese Barr fifth in another of the cars run by the experienced Target Competition team, while Igor Stefanovski and Nicola Baldan also scored points at the first opportunity.
Despite starting in tenth, due to the reverse grid of Race 2, Borković was able to repeat his result, taking the lead with only a handful of corners to go in a tricky wet/dry encounter that was interrupted by a red flag. Nagy was again able to step on the podium, this time in third ahead of his M1RA teammate Francisco Mora in fourth. In ninth place Luxembourg-based driver Loris Cencetti scored his first points of the campaign.
Two weeks later, the championship resumed in Holland. Working with the same BoP change as in WTCR the teams fought to remain at the front of grid. Borković, again, emerged as the strongest of the i30 N TCR drivers during Race 1, claiming fifth position to maintain his championship lead as the M1RA pair of Nagy (seventh) and Mora (ninth) were also able to add to their scores.
In the second race of the weekend it was Borković’s Target Competition teammate Kris Richard who took the starring role among the i30 N TCR drivers. The Swiss was part of a fierce fight for the podium places, unfortunately being shuffled back to fifth place by the chequered flag, with Mora adding further points to his account in eighth.
|
|
Maiden TCR Italy win for i30 N TCR in France
The success of the i30 N TCR continued in the category’s national championship. Making the trip to France TCR Italy held their own meeting at Paul Ricard a week after the TCR Europe event (May 12-13). Hyundai drivers locked out the front row in qualifying, Pit Lane Competizione driver Nicola Baldan taking pole position ahead of BRC Racing Team’s Eric Scalvini. They converted their start positions into a fine 1-2, Baldan’s success the first of an i30 N TCR in the Italian championship, as both he and Scalvini scored their first podiums of the year. There was no opportunity for them to repeat the performance in Race 2, which was reduced to two laps behind a safety car after torrential rain. However, Federico Paolino, Scalvini’s BRC teammate was credited with second position, further reward from the weekend after taking seventh place in Race 1, having qualified ninth. |
|
| Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Deputy General Manager Andrea Adamo said: “Working together with their local Hyundai distributors our i20 R5 customers have enjoyed a very successful period, with the victories in Spain and Portugal. Together with the sensational overall wins from our customers at national events in France and Italy the performance of the package is clear to see. Those successes, together with those of the i30 N TCR reflect greatly on the quality of our customers and their drivers, as well as the performance and reliability of their Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing-built cars.” |
|
|
Total de visitas
