Hyundai Motorsport has secured its most competitive finish on the grueling gravel stages of Rally Mexico on the weekend when Dani Sordo picked up his first podium of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with a strong run to second place.
The Spaniard, along with co-driver Carlos del Barrio, has been in impressive form all weekend, winning three stages and being in contention for victory for a large part of the event. In their second WRC round of 2018, the no. 6 crew led three Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC cars inside the top-six. Andreas Mikkelsen finished just off the podium in fourth place, and Thierry Neuville came home in sixth.
The combined team result has helped Hyundai Motorsport to extend its lead in the WRC manufacturers’ championship. With points awarded for second and fourth places, the team has built up a 12-point advantage after three rounds in its most competitive start to a WRC season.
Sunday’s final stages saw plenty more of the drama that has epitomized an exciting Rally Mexico all weekend. Crews tackled the 24,32 km Alfaro stage, followed by two timed runs through the 11,07 km Las Minas test.
Starting the day third overall, Sordo’s focus was on securing a podium, with an eye on pushing for second place. An incident for Citroën’s Kris Meeke on the opening stage elevated the Spaniard into the second position. Fourth placed Mikkelsen closed the gap to Meeke, but the Norwegian ran into his own difficulties in the rally’s penultimate stage when he got his Hyundai i20 briefly stuck in a ditch.
Neuville, winner of the previous rally in Sweden, continued to gain experience of being first on the road on Sunday in Mexico. The Belgian battled through to a solid sixth place, overcoming a number of issues during the weekend. In a closely fought Power Stage, with 1,4-seconds splitting the top-four times, Neuville took three extra points for third place, with Mikkelsen taking two points for fourth.
Second place in the first gravel event of the season marks an improvement on the team’s previous third-place Mexican podiums, achieved by Neuville in 2014 and 2017.
Crew Notes: Sordo/Del Barrio (no. 6Hyundai i20Coupe WRC):
Rally Mexico’s second place finish was Sordo’s first podium of 2018 and his best result since Spain 2016.
Sordo said: “I am very happy to score this podium after what has been an enjoyable, competitive, but tough weekend. We have shown good pace here in previous seasons, so I was optimistic that we would be able to fight for the top-three this weekend. It wasn’t entirely straightforward; even in the Power Stage there was a scary moment when we picked up a rear right puncture. With stones in the middle of the road, it was so easy for something to happen, so we backed off and took it carefully to the end.”
Crew Notes: Mikkelsen/Jaeger (no. 4 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC):
The weekend’s result was the second fourth place finish for the two Norwegians as a Hyundai Motorsport crew. They had a stage win on Saturday evening in SS19, and scored Power Stage points.
Mikkelsen said: “It has not been an easy rally for us, and we haven’t really been able to find the optimum pace or performance that we needed here. We made some changes to the car in service on Saturday evening, and I felt more comfortable in this morning’s final stages. We weren’t really in a position to improve, so we simply tried to keep things clean and tidy. There were definitely areas where we could have attacked more, but finishing fourth gives us important points. As a team we have increased our lead in the manufacturers’ table, and I have also moved up to third in the drivers’ classification.”
Crew Notes: Neuville/Gilsoul (no. 5 Hyundai i20Coupe WRC):
Neuville’s sixth place scored valuable driver points for the Belgian’s championship standing, which has now dropped to second. He also scored three additional points for third place in a Power Stage.
Neuville said: “We approached the final morning of the rally determined to score as many points as possible for the drivers’ championship. I gave it all I could in the Power Stage, and I’m happy to take three extra points away from what has been a very tough weekend. Starting first on the road each day was far from ideal, but that’s part of the game. It was actually a useful experience to deal with those conditions, despite the obvious time disadvantage.”
Team Principal Michel Nandan said: “We have witnessed once again just how tough Rally Mexico can be, with lots of drama right up to the Power Stage. We are delighted to finish the weekend with our best ever Mexico result and to increase our lead of the manufacturers’ championship. Dani and Carlos have had a strong weekend, and it’s great to see them on the podium. Andreas and Thierry both picked up important points in the Power Stage, concluding a generally positive rally. Finishing with all three Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC cars inside the top-six in such a demanding event is very encouraging.”
Next rally
The FIA World Rally Championship moves back to tarmac in a few weeks’ time on the Mediterranean island Corsica for the Tour de Corse, fourth WRC round of the season from 5-8 April. Hyundai Motorsport will return to the Mediterranean island as defending winners of this rally.
Final result in Rally Mexico:
1. S. Ogier/J. Ingrassia Ford Fiesta WRC 3:54:08.0
2. D. Sordo/C. del Barrio Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +1:03.6
3. K. Meeke/ P. Nagle Citroën C3 WRC +1:19.2
4. A. Mikkelsen/A. Jaeger Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +1:38.4
5. S. Loeb/D. Elena Citroën C3 WRC +2:24.6
6. T. Neuville/N. Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +9:03.0
7. P. Tidemand/J. Andersson Skoda Fabia R5 +10:24.7
8. J.M. Latvala/M. Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC +15:37.1
9. G. Greensmith/C. Parry Ford Fiesta R5 +17:09.3
10. P. Heller/P. Olmos Ford Fiesta R5 +24:18.1
WRC Drivers’ Championship standings:
1. S. Ogier (56 points); 2. T. Neuville (52); 3. A. Mikkelsen (35); 4. K. Meeke (32); 5. J.M Latvala (31); 6. O. Tanak (26); .7 E. Lappi (23); 8. C. Breen (20); 9. D. Sordo (18); 10. H. Paddon (10).
WRC Manufacturers’ Championship standings:
1. Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team (84); 2. M-Sport Ford World Rally Team (72); 3. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team (71); 4. Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team (67).
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Sordo claims the 2nd place for Hyundai Motorsport in Rally Mexico https://t.co/GMmKITrhj2 #ArriveAlive @HyundaiSA pic.twitter.com/Ov6ztSdCED
— Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) March 12, 2018