Hyundai Motorsport has completed a challenging opening day of action for Rally Chile, the sixth event on the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) calendar. The three Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team crews – Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul, Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger-Amland and Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena – embraced the challenge of a brand new event, using Friday to get to grips with unfamiliar stages.
Friday’s itinerary, the first competitive action in Rally Chile for the WRC, covered four separate stages. The day opened with a trio of timed tests: the 17.11km El Pinar stage gave crews a first taste of the Chile gravel before moving onto the longer 30.72km El Puma. Completing the loop was the 22.26km Espigado, comprising fast sections that brought comparisons to Rally Finland.
Lunchtime service was followed by a further three stages, a repeat run through El Puma and Espigado followed by a shorter 2.20km run Concepción-Bicentenario.
Championship leader Neuville, starting first on the road, scored a stage win at the end of the opening loop but lost ground in the afternoon. Loeb, in his first event since Tour de Corse, made good headway during Friday’s loops. He finished second in SS4 and SS5, the repeat of El Puma and Espigado, to move into the top-six.
Mikkelsen, meanwhile, had a less fortunate Friday; the Norwegian hit a rock during SS2 that lost him confidence, and then lost more time during the afternoon.
The team ended the opening day with a 1-2 in stage, as Loeb led Neuville in the short Concepcion-Bicentenario test.
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (#11 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) Stage win in SS3 (Espigado) kept Belgians in contention Time lost in afternoon loop dropped them to fourth
Neuville said: “It has been a tough and demanding first day here in Chile, as we discover brand new stages. The morning loop went quite well overall. Our pace notes were made when we had foggy conditions so it was difficult at times. It was fast with crests and blind corners. You have to push here because otherwise you lose a lot of time. Unfortunately, there was a lot of cleaning this afternoon. I really tried but I had a lot of wheel spin.”
Crew Notes: Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (#19 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) Improved afternoon loop with second place in SS4 (El Puma 2) and SS5 (Espigado) Stage win in SS6 (Concepcion-Bicentenario) helped crew secure top-six position
Loeb said: “The stages here in Chile have been interesting, very technical and far from easy. They have been incredibly fast in some sections, and particularly the Espigado stage. It has been important to find a good rhythm, but the demands of the routes have made that a challenge. I was able to push harder this afternoon, as the conditions were more favourable. I felt more comfortable and had a good feeling with the car.”
Crew Notes: Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger-Amland (#89 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) Solid start but confidence issues developed during the morning loop Improved feeling in the afternoon
Mikkelsen said: “It has been a tricky day. The opening stage started well and we were on the pace. In SS2, we hit a big rock in he middle of the road. After that, I really struggled with the confidence. We made some changes at lunchtime service to address the lack of stability. Initially, in the afternoon, I felt that we were heading in the right direction but in SS5, I lost the rear of the car and almost rolled. We need a fresh start tomorrow.”
Team Director Andrea Adamo: “We cannot say we are happy because starting first on the road today has not been a good position for Thierry and Nicolas. They have had the role of road cleaners and to be the first to experience these new stages did not help along the day for many reasons. We have to manage the situation we are in, and see what we can do. Sébastien and Daniel have had a nice afternoon loop, catching up time and positions. We have to understand why Andreas and Anders are going in the way they are because it’s certainly not working as well as we expected.”
Saturday at a glance Six stages make up the itinerary for Rally Chile’s second day, a repeat loop of three timed tests that covers a total distance of 121.16km A 20.90km run through Rio Lia will be followed by a slightly longer route, the 23.09km Maria Las Cruces, and concludes with the 16.59km Pelun stage. Lunchtime service separates the two loops as crews continue to learn about the Chilean gravel terrain.
Classification after Day One 1 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 1:24:12.8 2 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia Citroën C3 WRC +22.4 3 J.M Latvala M. Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC +28.8 4 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +29.5 5 K. Meeke S. Marshall Toyota Yaris WRC +46.5 6 S. Loeb D. Elena Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +48.7 7 E. Evans S. Martin Ford Fiesta WRC +1:01.4 8 A. Mikkelsen A. Jæger-Amland Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +2:08.1 9 T. Suninen M. Salminen Ford Fiesta WRC +2:09.1 10 E. Lappi J. Ferm Citroën C3 WRC +2:18.3
Press release Hyundai Motorsport
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