MUNDIAL - HYUNDAI MOTORSPORT COM NOVIDADES

Terça, 17 Dezembro 2019 13:21 | Actualizado em Quarta, 19 Março 2025 02:07

Hyundai Motorsport customer results round-up bulletin
 

• BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse i30 N TCR driver Norbert Michelisz won the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup title at a dramatic final round at the Sepang International Circuit
• Iván Ares finished off his Spanish tarmac rally championship season with a third victory of the year in his Hyundai España supported i20 R5
• Leading an i20 R5 1-2 at the Rally Orvecame Isla de Lanzarote Yeray Lemes clinched the Canary Islands rally championship title.

 For the second consecutive season an i30 N TCR driver has won the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup title, with Norbert Michelisz inheriting the crown from his teammate Gabriele Tarquini. Meanwhile, as series drew to a close around the world there were some final podiums, victories and a last title to celebrate for our i20 R5 customers as well.  
 

i30 N TCR customer lifts FIA WTCR title for second successive season   BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse driver Norbert Michelisz lifted the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup title after a dramatic final round at the WTCR Race of Malaysia (December 13-15). Arriving at the Sepang International Circuit with a slender lead Michelisz took both pole positions available, taking advantage of the pace of the i30 N TCR at the former Grand Prix venue as all four Hyundai drivers posted times in the top eight.   The pace advantage remained in the damp conditions that greeted the competitors for Race 1, Michelisz was able to lead from lights to flag to take a crucial win before conditions worsened for Race 2 – all three encounters of the final weekend taking place on the same day. In treacherous conditions Michelisz did his best to avoid damage, while scoring crucial points for eighth place after starting from tenth on the partially reversed grid. That, despite his nearest rival taking victory, gave the Hungarian the lead starting the finale.   Calm despite the enormous pressure, he kept the i30 N TCR in the top five which – as his rival faded with problems – was more than enough to take the drivers’ title, following on from Hyundai teammate Gabriele Tarquini’s victory in 2018. Tarquini, too enjoyed a strong final weekend. He finished third in Race 1 as the pair narrowed the gap in points at the head of the teams’ standings. However, despite continuing to push during the final two races it was only enough to give the BRC Racing Team squad second in the final points for the second year in succession. Ares finishes Spanish campaign with third win of 2019   Hyundai España supported driver Iván Ares ended the Spanish tarmac rally season with a third win of the year at the Rally Comunidad de Madrid RACE (November 22-23). Ares and co-driver David Vásquez inherited the overall lead from fellow i20 R5 crew Surhayen Pernía and Alba Sánchez after topping the third stage of the weekend.  They were able to hold the position through the remaining action, including tests at the Jarama circuit to the north of the capital city. The victory confirmed Ares and Vásquez in second in the final championship standings. Pernía – who finished the event fourth – claimed third in the series’ points.   A third i20 R5 on the rally was driven by Albert Llovera. A regular at the wheel of both rally and rallycross machinery the paraplegic athlete finished seventh overall on his first competitive outing in an R5 car.  Double podium for i20 R5 crews at Monza Rally Show   A total of 10 i20 R5 crews competed for the overall win at the Monza Rally Show (December 6-8). The event brought WRC drivers Dani Sordo, Andreas Mikkelsen and Craig Breen together with seven customer crews, who were also contesting the Hyundai i20 R5 Trophy at the Italian circuit.   Sordo and Mikkelsen scooped a fastest time apiece – the Spaniard’s on the first pass of the 45km Grand Prix stage – but it was Sordo who led the i20 R5 challenge for much of the rally. After briefly taking the overall lead during Saturday he and regular co-driver Carlos del Barrio finished second overall. They only narrowly beat Andrea Nucita, who took third overall in his Bernini Rally-run car to claim the €10.000 top prize for the i20 R5 Trophy.   Five Hyundai crews finished in the top ten. Breen and Mikkelsen finished fifth and sixth respectively, while Andrea Mabellini finished ninth to claim second place among the customers contesting the Trophy. Third place in the competition went to Josh McErlean and Keaton Williams, the British Rally Championship regulars in their second event in the car. Spanish and Portuguese customers secure Hyundai 1-2 finishes   Yeray Lemes led a Hyundai 1-2 at the Rally Orvecame Isla de Lanzarote (November 29-30) – the final round on the Canary Islands rally championship. The result was his fourth win of the year on the islands and confirmed him as the series’ 2019 champion. He won eight of the 11 stages on the rally, with two more top times going to Surhayen Pernía who was the man to complete the 1-2 for Hyundai customers, with both men supported by Hyundai Canaries.   Another 1-2 came in Portugal at the Rallye das Camélias (November 29-30) where Pedro Clarimundo and Gil Antunes piloted the two i20 R5 from the Racing 4 You team. The pair took three stage wins each, but it was Clarimundo who ended the event with victory as the two Hyundai comfortably beat the next best R5 entrant on the rally. Hyundai Paraguay complete South American series with finale podium   The South American CODASUR championship reached its final round in Uruguay at the Rally del Atlantico (November 29-December 1) with Hyundai Paraguay backed Diego Dominguez one of those in contention for the title. With countryman Hector Nunes as co-driver he was never out of the top three overall on his way to finishing second. However, while it put him on the final podium of the season, the result could only secure him a similar second place in the international championship at the end of the five-event campaign. Three i20 R5 crews in Polish event top ten   Jari Huttunen once again joined up with the Kowax Racing team to drive one of their i20 R5 at the Barbórka Rally (December 6-7) in Poland. The Finn finished second overall – to lead the crews running in R5 machinery – and set two fastest stage times, despite the presence of WRC cars on the tarmac event. Łukasz Byśkiniewicz finished fifth overall and Maciej Lubiak in seventh brought the number of i20 R5 in the top ten to three. Hyundai customers on the pace at wet Var event   After winning the final stage overall Stéphane Sarrazin finished in fourth place – third within the R5 class – at the Rallye Du Var (November 22-24) to lead four i20 R5 customers in the top ten overall. In horribly wet conditions that saw almost the entirety of Saturday’s running cut he beat Ole Christian Veiby, who took fifth place on his second event with the Hyundai car. Raphaël Astier finished seventh overall and claimed fourth among those crews entered for the French tarmac rally championship. Astier, driving an i20 R5 prepared by Onyx Racing ended the 2019 season as the best placed of the Hyundai i20 R5 crews in the final points’ standings. Making his first start as a Hyundai customer Laurent Pellier rounded out the group in tenth overall.   Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Senior Sales Associate Andrew Johns said: “WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup is the pinnacle of the TCR racing ladder worldwide, so to have a second i30 N TCR driver win the title in as many seasons is obviously great. It’s a very competitive series and Norbert Michelisz’s title confirms the i30 N TCR at the top of the category to cap off an amazing 2019 for our racing customers. In rallying too there have been some amazing results and teams have put together incredible seasons. Diego Dominguez now has second places in both the national and international series this year, while in Spain we can celebrate a final win in the national series and the title in the Canary Islands.”

About Hyundai Motorsport GmbH Established on 19 December 2012, Hyundai Motorsport GmbH is responsible for Hyundai’s global motorsport activities, including the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Customer Racing and electric racing projects. In WRC, Hyundai Motorsport quickly established a strong reputation taking victory in its debut season in 2014. The team finished as runners-up in the manufacturers’ championship on three consecutive occasions between 2016 and 2018 before claiming its maiden title in 2019. Since the establishment of its Customer Racing activities in September 2015, Hyundai Motorsport has become a trusted partner for teams and drivers looking for success on the rally stages or on racetracks around the world. From its competitive i20 R5 rally car to the competitive i30 N TCR, Hyundai Motorsport-built cars have claimed victory in several championships, including national rally series around Europe, as well as the drivers’ titles in two consecutive FIA WTCR – World Touring Car Cup seasons in 2018 and 2019. Designed and built at its Alzenau headquarters, the Veloster N ETCR was unveiled in September 2019 and heralds an exciting new era, in which electric racing is set to become one of the company’s pillars. Unified under Hyundai Motorsport, WRC, Customer Racing and electric racing are together playing instrumental roles in driving Hyundai’s global high-performance N brand, and are supporting an important perception shift for the Hyundai brand around the world.   About Hyundai Motor Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Company is committed to becoming a lifetime partner in automobiles and beyond with its range of world-class vehicles and mobility services offered available in more than 200 countries. Employing more than 110,000 employees worldwide, Hyundai sold more than 4.5 million vehicles globally. Hyundai Motor continues to enhance its product line-up with vehicles that are helping to build solutions for a more sustainable future, such as NEXO – the world’s first dedicated hydrogen-powered SUV.