Hyundai Motorsport welcomed some of their successful customers to the company headquarters as part of the prize under the Hyundai i30 N TCR Trophy and Hyundai i20 R5 Trophy initiatives.
As reward for finishing in the top-three of their respective series the drivers were presented with awarded with cash prizes, with champions taking €10.000, a runner-up €5.000 and third place €3.000.
Among those welcomed to Alzenau, Germany were Portuguese driver Armindo Araújo, who secured the Portuguese rally championship title at the final round, where he took his fourth win of the season for Team Hyundai Portugal. He was joined by fellow i20 R5 drivers Bryan Bouffier, Iván Ares, Surhayen Pernía and Claudio de Cecco thanks to their finishes in national championships around Europe.
Ares, together with co-driver José Pintor finished on the podium in ten out of the 11 rounds of the Spanish Rally Championship in his i20 R5 supported by Hyundai Spain to finish second in the points’ standings. Also supported by the manufacturer in the country, Surhayen Pernía finished third in the same competition as Hyundai also clinched the manufacturers’ title.
In France Bouffier racked up four wins over the course of the season to take second place in the overall standings, despite being forced to miss one event. For the second consecutive season De Cecco finished second in the Slovenian championship after a campaign supported by Hyundai Slovenia.
The five were presented with their award by Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Deputy General Manager Andrea Adamo, with the department further represented by Senior Sales Associate Andrew Johns and Sales Associate Veronica Boni.
Other drivers eligible for trophy prizes, but unable to attend the event included TCR Korea winner Byung-Hui Kang, who scored two race victories with the i30 N TCR, and Diego Dominguez, who tallied four wins in the Paraguayan championship, including the 900km long Transchaco Rally during his first season in an i20 R5.
The presentation was also attended by two of Hyundai Motorsport’s starring drivers, with WRC driver Andreas Mikkelsen and FIA WTCR winner* Gabriele Tarquini on hand to congratulate the successful drivers.
The presentations are the first of two events that close the year for Hyundai Motorsport’s customers, the second of which will come this weekend with a Hyundai i20 R5 Trophy event running as part of the Monza Rally Show.
Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Deputy General Manager Andrea Adamo said: “2018 has been a very busy year for Hyundai Motorsport customers, with the first Hyundai i30 N TCR teams joining the Hyundai i20 R5 crews in competition around the world. After following their exploits throughout the year it was very nice to be able to welcome them to Alzenau for the day to congratulate them properly. To be able to bring together so many of our successful customers for this presentation is a great reward, both for them, and hopefully for the whole Customer Racing department. Having the drivers together gives an indication of the success of our cars around the world this year, and hopefully acts as motivation to further titles in the seasons to come.”
*Subject to confirmation of the results by the FIA
Press release Hyundai Motorsport
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