Hyundai Motorsport finds itself involved in a close podium fight at the end of the opening day of Rally Argentina

Hyundai Motorsport is firmly in the hunt for the podium positions at the end of the first complete day of action in this weekend’s Rally Argentina, the fifth round of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).

With eight out of the scheduled 18 stages concluded, Thierry Neuville moved up into third place overall just 0.9s ahead of his Spanish team-mate Dani Sordo in fourth. Andreas Mikkelsen held the rally lead for two stages on Friday morning, but suffered an issue with his front-right tyre coming off its rim in the afternoon that pushed him back to seventh on the classification

Following Thursday evening’s Super Special around Villa Carlos Paz, in which Neuville claimed the first stage win of the weekend, Friday’s itinerary covered seven tough gravel tests. A trio of stages – Las Bajadas/Villa del Dique, Amboy/Yacanto and Santa Rosa/San Agustin – was run twice during the day, separated by a Super Special Fernet Branca and lunchtime service.

Conditions on the afternoon loop were especially harsh with heavy ruts making life complicated for crews, and large rocks on the routes requiring extra care and attention. All three Hyundai Motorsport pairs were on the pace throughout the day, with Sordo and co-driver Carlos del Barrio taking the team’s second stage win of the weekend in the lunchtime Super Special.

WRC Crew Notes: Neuville/Gilsoul (#5 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

• Stage win on Thursday’s opening special stage in Carlos Paz
• Steady Friday saw the Belgians move up to third overall, 28.6s from the lead

Neuville said: “I am quite pleased with the day overall. We have had a good feeling inside the car and felt that we could really push for competitive stage times despite starting second on the road. At the same time, we have had to avoid trouble and effectively save the car, as the stages were pretty rough in places. The strategy has really been to take it easy and keep in touch with the leaders. I am sure we have more pace in us for tomorrow, which will be a very different challenge.”

WRC Crew Notes: Sordo/Del Barrio (#6 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

• Fourth place overall for the Spaniards after strong Friday
• Stage win in SS5 (Super Special Fernet Branca)

Sordo said: “It has been a positive start to the rally for us, and I am thoroughly enjoying driving in front of these crowds. The stages themselves, as we know from the past, are very rough and it is very easy to have some problems. To be fighting for the podium is where we would hope to be at the end of the first day – and it is very close. I have to thank the team for the job they have done to prepare our car. I have hit a few big rocks this afternoon, and the car has done its job perfectly, very solid and competitive. Let’s see if we can keep up the fight tomorrow!”

WRC Crew Notes: Mikkelsen/Jæger  (#4 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

• Norwegians took lead of the rally after SS3 (Amboy/Yacanto)
• Tyre came off rim in SS6 requiring a cautious approach to second loop

Mikkelsen said: “We had a great morning and led the rally for a few stages, which was very promising. Ott has been incredibly fast today so we knew we had to push hard, which is easier said than done on such rough stages. It was going well until the start of the afternoon loop when the tyre came loose from the rim and lost us a lot of time. We then had to be extra careful because we knew one more issue might be game over, so we focused on getting the car home. We’ll be ready for another push on Saturday.”

Great expectations

Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Michel Nandan said: “I think we can be pleased with how this rally has started for all three of our crews. They have all shown flashes of competitive pace, with two stage wins and even fighting for the lead of the rally this morning. Ott Tänak has been on impressive form today but the battle for second place is very close indeed. We should take comfort from our performance today. Without the issue for Andreas, I am sure all of our crews would have been competing for the top-three this evening, and they are all still in with a shout for the podium as this tough rally continues. I’m excited to see what happens tomorrow.”    Saturday’s itinerary at a glance

• Seven stages make up the schedule for Saturday, including the longest individual stage of the rally
• Starting with the 13.92km Tanti-Mataderos route, the loop moves onto the 16.02km Los Gigantes-Cuchilla Nevada stage and the longer 40.48km Cuchilla Nevada-Rio Pintos
• Like Friday, a Super Special and lunchtime service split the two passes, with the total stage distance for Saturday reaching 146.88km.

Classification after Day One

Press release Hyundai Motorsport