WRC – Home hero Dani Sordo registered a stage win on the afternoon loop to hold a provisional podium position in second overall

Hyundai Motorsport will need to pick up the pace on the final two days of Rally de España despite a solid start in the penultimate round of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) – the only mixed surface rally of the season.

Returning for their first WRC event since Rallye Deutschland in August, home heroes Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio registered a stage win on their way to second overall after the opening seven stages. In a tantalisingly close battle for the podium, there are just 3.4-seconds between Sordo in second, Elfyn Evans in third and Sébastien Loeb in fourth.

Norwegian crew Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jæger claimed a fastest stage time at the end of the morning loop and completed the opening day inside the top-six. They were themselves just 12-seconds adrift of their Spanish Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team colleagues in the overall standings.

It was a less than ideal scenario for drivers’ championship leader Thierry Neuville, as the Belgian started first on the road on Friday. Cleaning the gravel stages for those running behind on the order, Neuville finished the day in ninth – almost one minute behind title rival and rally leader Ott Tanak. His other championship challenger, Sébastien Ogier, holds seventh place overall.

Friday’s itinerary, the longest individual day of the rally, covered a repeat loop of three stages – the all-gravel Gandesa (7km) and Pesells (26.59km) routes, as well as the mixed surface La Fatarella – Vilalba test (38.85km).  The rally had initially got underway with a 3.2km stage in Barcelona on Thursday evening.

The action moves onto tarmac stages on Saturday with Hyundai Motorsport’s team of mechanics transforming the three Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC cars from gravel into tarmac specification during a 75-minute Friday evening service.  With positions in the drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles still undecided, there will be plenty to play for on the final two days in Spain.

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

• Stage win in SS5 (Gandesa 2) cemented top-three position for the Spaniards
• Sordo has twice been on the Spanish podium with Hyundai Motorsport

Sordo said: “I am very happy to be back with the team for my home rally. It is always a pleasure for us to compete in front of the Spanish crowds. I am quite satisfied with my day and to be in a position to fight for the podium. It’s very competitive and there are lots of crews who are fighting for the top-three. If we want to remain in the battle, we have to push hard and show what we are capable of. The feeling inside the car has been good today but we will see what we can do when we move onto tarmac on the final two days.”

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

• Norwegians made breakthrough with car adjustments midway through morning loop
• Stage win scored in SS4 (La Fatarella – Vilalba)

Mikkelsen said: “In the opening stages this morning, I struggled to find any control from our Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC. Each time braking into a corner I lost the rear and you really need to position the car at the right angle. We made a few changes, including the roll bar position, and the feeling was then suddenly there. I could push and we were fastest in the long stage before lunch, which was a nice feeling.  We took a gamble in the afternoon with six tyres, but the conditions were cooler and the tyre wear was a lot less so it didn’t really pay off. It’s very close in the podium fight so we’ll aim to get ourselves further up the order tomorrow.”

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

• Championship leader started first on the gravel roads on Friday
• Persevered to ninth overall, two places behind Ogier and 59.7s behind leader Tanak

Neuville said: “We have been absolutely on it all day, and could not have given any more. We have gone as fast as we could but it has been hugely disappointing to struggle so much in the loose conditions, especially as first on the road. This morning, we just couldn’t find the rhythm and also made a mistake towards the end of the loop; it’s difficult to do much more from that starting position. A tricky day but we are not too far behind Ogier, so have to remain positive. Tomorrow we will face different conditions on tarmac. We’ll keep pushing.”

Terrain transfer

Team Principal Michel Nandan commented: “We knew it would be a challenging day, particularly for Thierry as first on the road which is never an easy job here in Spain. Tyre choices were complicated but overall it was good to get all three of our crews through the day unscathed. Dani has immediately been on the pace in his home rally. It was good to see him and Andreas both take a stage win today in an extremely close field. We know it’s an uphill battle in the manufacturers’ title chase but we will keep giving it everything we have. There are some reports of rain for Saturday that could easily transform the outcome of this rally as we move from gravel onto tarmac stages.”

Saturday at a glance

• A loop of three stages will make up the majority of Saturday’s itinerary.
• The day starts with the 14.12km Savalla stage before moving onto the longer 21.26km Querol and 24.40km El Montmell routes.
• The trio of tests will be repeated after lunchtime service, followed by a short 2.24km Salou stage in the late afternoon.
• A total distance of 121.80km stages will be held on Saturday – all on tarmac.

Classification after Day One

Press release Hyundai Motorsport