Hyundai Motorsport has concluded the opening day of Rally Monza with Dani Sordo holding a one-second lead

Hyundai Motorsport has begun the final round of the 2020 FIA World Rally Championship, Rally Monza, still in contention for the manufacturers’ title as the team holds a one-second lead after the opening six stages.

Wet and muddy conditions led to a dramatic opening day for all crews with even the smallest error of misjudgement heavily penalised. Hyundai Motorsport’s three crews – Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul, Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja and Dani Sordo/Carlos del Barrio – had mixed fortunes on stages held around the legendary Autodromo Nazionale Monza and its iconic banking.

Sordo claimed two stage wins on Friday to top the timesheets heading into evening service, with Tänak in a fighting fifth place. For Neuville, however, it was a tough day in the office as he retired at the start of the afternoon loop.

There was a sting in the tail for most crews on the two runs through the 13.43km Scorpion stage which opened the day’s schedule. Neuville was one of those caught out in the first pass, as he slid into a fence and stalled, losing over 20 seconds of time. Tänak, too, lost time as the door of his Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC kept opening mid-stage. Sordo, on the other hand, set the fastest time to take an early lead of the rally.

The crews buckled up for a turbulent drive through the repeated 16.22km Cinturato stage in the afternoon, with more drama to follow in the challenging wet conditions. Neuville was forced to retire on SS4, due to front right suspension after hitting a concrete block in one of the chicanes. The stage was temporarily stopped as his car was recovered from the water splash.

The final stage of the day, Grand Prix, was held in heavy rain with a threat of aquaplaning. Sordo soared back to the top spot by a narrow margin after a positive day for the Spanish crew. With the likelihood of snow on Saturday’s stages, tyre selection on today’s five stages might prove strategically important with ten snow tyres available to crews from their weekend allocation.

Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

• Crew holds fifth place, just 17.7-seconds from their team-mates leading the rally
• Demanding conditions required focus for the Estonians on Friday

Tänak said: “The conditions we have faced today have been unique and some of the toughest of the year. Driving on tarmac with some gravel section is tricky at the best of times but, in this weather, you can’t imagine how demanding it is – especially with no gravel crew. We have had to read the road by ourselves, focusing on the surface to see where the grip would be. You have to be 100% on it to find the limit because if you push too much, there’s always one place that can catch you out. We have made it through and had a clean run to end the day. There was a lot of rain and aquaplaning, so it was far from easy. During the day I found some improvements; now and then the feeling with the car has been nice. Tomorrow’s stages might be even more difficult but if there’s anything more interesting than what we’ve seen today, I want to see it!”

Crew Notes: Dani Sordo / Carlos del Barrio (#6 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

• Two stage wins, SS2 (Scorpion) and SS6 (Grand Prix)
• Sardinia winners leading in Monza by one second

Sordo said: “Today was a really tough day but we end it on the top of the classification, which is positive. We had a good start with a stage win on the opening test, but we lost a bit of time in the muddy sections which didn’t suit us as much. We tried to keep pushing to be at the front. Tomorrow, if it is as snowy as it currently seems, road position will be important to be further back and to see the cleaner lines. We made some important changes to the car to give me more confidence and improved handling, but in these conditions, it is never easy. We have had a good start but let’s see what happens.”

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (#11 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

• Belgians dropped time on SS2 (Scorpion 1) after a mistake in tricky conditions
• Despite fighting back on SS3, the crew was forced to stop in the following stage

Neuville said: “It was not the end to the opening day that we wanted to have. After a mistake this morning, we were aiming to climb back up the ranking, pushing hard. We went too close to a concrete block in the chicane in SS4 (Cinturato), which damaged the suspension. We were losing time but the car was still driveable, the steering was OK and the rim and tyre too. Unfortunately, in the water splash, too much water got into the car and the engine stalled; we were not able to restart so had to stop the car where it was. I am really disappointed for the team that I wasn’t able to do the job I should have done, but – as always – we keep our heads up and try to improve. The team is going to fix the car so we can continue tomorrow.”

Team Principal Andrea Adamo: “We are happy to survive this amazing day with two of our Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC cars, and with Dani leading the rally. He and Ott have done a really nice job today in some incredibly difficult conditions. Thierry made a mistake which does not help our fight for the manufacturers’ title and has lost him any remaining chance for the drivers’ championship but this is rallying and these things can happen. We have to enjoy the leadership of this rally for now, and stay focused, because tomorrow is set to be another tricky day.”

Saturday at a glance

• Seven stages will face the crews on Saturday – the penultimate day of the 2020 WRC season – with uncertainty over the weather conditions
• The mountain roads include the longest stage of the weekend, the 25.06km Selvino test.
• Selvino opens a three-stage loop that includes Gerosa (11.09km) and Costa Valle Imagna (22.17km).
• The loop will be run twice during the day, separated by lunchtime service, and with the day ending with the P Zero Grand Prix (10.31km) that also concluded Friday’s itinerary.
• A total of 126.95km of stages make up Saturday’s schedule with the possibility of snow adding an uncertain element to this final round of the year.

Classification after Day One

Press release Hyundai Motorsport