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MUNDIAL - HYUNDAI MOTORSPORT

Segunda, 17 Fevereiro 2020 17:29 | Actualizado em Quinta, 28 Março 2024 15:27

Hyundai Motorsport customer results round-up bulletin
 
  • Finnish crew Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka led the R5 crews on Rally Sweden, finishing tenth overall in the weekend’s difficult conditions
  • James Wilson began his 2020 season in the Irish Forestry Rally Championship with a dominant victory on the Carrick Forestry Rally
  • Luca Engstler raced through the grid to take a second win of his TCR Malaysia season in his i30 N TCR while Josh Files took a podium on his race debut with Solite Indigo Racing.
 
 i20 R5 customers were at the front of rallies around Europe, taking victories and podiums in a range of conditions thanks to the performance of car. Elsewhere, crews continue to make plans to take i20 R5 into 2020 campaigns, and i30 N TCR customers kept the Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing-built machines at the front of the category.
 
Jari Huttunen scores top-10 overall in Sweden with i20 R5
 
On a Rally Sweden (February 13-16) made more challenging by unusual mixed conditions Jari Huttunen took his i20 R5 to tenth overall, leading the R5 runners in the process. The performance, obviously, also saw him take an impressive victory in the WRC 3 class for privateer teams running R5-spec machinery.
 
Driving a car run by Kowax 2Brally Team Huttunen and co-driver Mikko Lukka were among the fastest R5 crews throughout the rally. Four times – including for three consecutive stages on Saturday – the Finnish pair were the fastest crew in the class, as they climbed up the order into the top ten. A measured performance on the Power Stage secured an excellent result.
Jari Huttunen - i20 R5 - Rally Sweden
Jari Huttunen - i20 R5 - Rally Sweden
Winning start to Irish Gravel season
 
One of three drivers supported by Motorsport Ireland for rallying seasons around Europe with the i20 R5, James Wilson was unbeatable on the Carrick Forestry Rally (February 16) – the opening round of the country’s gravel championship. Wilson and co-driver Arthur Kierans topped every one of the stages and won overall by more than 40 seconds to seal a perfect start to their 2020 campaign.
 
i20 R5 driver takes British Championship podium on series return
 
Making his first start in the British Rally Championship for more than two years Osian Pryce was immediately on the pace in his i20 R5 at the Cambrian Rally (February 8th). In only his second outing in the Melvyn Evans Motorsport-prepared car he finished second overall on the event, which kicked off the 2020 season in the series.
 
2019 championship runner-up Tom Cave scored two stage wins, and initially led the way in his i20 R5. However, a mistake, running wide through a corner and striking a rock, lost him over three minutes and forced him to mount a recovery drive through the second half of the event. He successfully climbed from 18th back up to 6th to bank important points towards his title challenge.
 
Josh McErlean was on course for a superb result on his BRC debut at the wheel of an i20 R5. The Motorsport Ireland-supported driver was in contention to join Pryce on the overall podium heading into the penultimate stage. There, unfortunately, he hit a rock, damaging the car and ruling him out of the fight for the top positions.
James Wilson - Carrick Forestry Rally
Osian Pryce - Cambrian Rally
Irish trio shine on Hyundai debuts
 
Three drivers made their first competitive starts with the i20 R5 at the Galway International Rally (February 2). Sam Moffett was the best of the group throughout the event, winning three stages of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, on his way to a provisional second place. Younger brother Josh – driving one of the most recent i20 R5 delivered from Hyundai Motorsport’s Alzenau headquarters – was a consistent fifth overall.
 
Desi Henry was also among the top drivers on the event in the opening stages, but was forced out of contention with a minor mechanical issue.
Sam Moffett - Galway International Rally
Desi Henry - Galway International Rally
Podium result to start Cypriot national season
 
Driver Panayiotis Yiangou began his national championship in Cyprus with a second placed finish on the East Safari Rally (February 15-16). Driving an i20 R5 prepared by his family Yiangou Motorsport team he was never outside of the overall podium spots after starting with the third fastest time to begin the event. Consistent throughout the rally he seized second overall after going quickest on the penultimate stage before consolidating the position on the final test of the weekend.
Panayiotis Yiangou - East Safari Rally
Panayiotis Yiangou - East Safari Rally
Top drivers head for European Championship with i20 R5 customers
 
Drivers Craig Breen and Bruno Magalhães will both contest this season’s European Rally Championship with i20 R5 customer teams. Breen, who clinched the 2019 Irish tarmac rally title with overall victory in an i20 R5, will run with Italian squad BRC Racing Team in partnership with tyre company MRF. BRC are no strangers to the i20 R5, having run Giandomenico Basso to the 2017 TER Series title, and fielded now-Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Junior Driver Pierre-Louis Loubet in WRC 2 competition during 2018.
 
Magalhães continues his partnership with Team Hyundai Portugal. After two years backing cars in their national series Hyundai Portugal now step up to international competition. The news confirms Magalhães’ return to the series, aiming to use the proven pace of the i20 R5 to better his runner-up finish in the 2017 championship.
Craig Breen - Ulster Rally 2019
Bruno Magalhaes - Team Hyundai Portugal Team Announcement
Engstler shows speed again in Malaysia
 
Luca Engstler took a second win of the TCR Malaysia season at the Sepang Circuit (February 14-15). Driving for Hyundai Team Engstler the German took a dominant pole position by over 0.8 seconds, as i30 N TCR took three of the four sports on the front rows of the grid.
 
However, an overnight engine change meant he started Race 1 from sixth. That proved little obstacle, as he climbed to third after the opening corners and set to work on making his way back to the front, setting the fastest lap in the process. His journey to the front was completed with two laps remaining to score a tremendous victory.
 
Having to start from the back of the reversed grid for Race 2 Engstler made similar progress in the opening lap to run third as Josh Files – joining the grid in a Solite Indigo Racing-run i30 N TCR for the weekend – had taken the lead off the line. Files, making his first start for the team, held the lead under pressure into a late race safety car period. In the single lap scramble that remained once racing restarted the TCR Europe champion was pushed back to third place.
 
The weekend’s results leave Engstler second in the drivers’ standings, though he and teammate Nicolas Gruber still lead the teams’ points and Hyundai remains atop the series’ Car of the Year table.
 
Luca Engstler - TCR Malaysia - Sepang Circuit
Josh Files - TCR Malaysia - Sepang Circuit
Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Senior Sales Associate Andrew Johns said: “The early rallies of the season have brought some very impressive results from our i20 R5 customers, with the tenth overall on Rally Sweden the most high profile of them. On a weekend where road conditions were such a challenge Jari’s pace and consistency were excellent, and the result at the end of the event was well-deserved. So too, was the victory in Ireland after a perfect run from James and his co-driver. With podiums also in the British and Irish Tarmac series, not to mention the top line-ups heading into the ERC with the i20 R5 our customers have quite a 2020 ahead of them. Team with the i30 N TCR, meanwhile, continue to take victories to keep the car at the front of the very competitive category.”


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 in France and Spain, as well as consecutive titles in the FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) 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.


Further information about Hyundai Motorsport is available at: http://motorsport.hyundai.com
 
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.
 


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