WRC – Hyundai Motorsport has completed the penultimate day of Rally Monza

The fight for the 2020 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) manufacturers’ title remains finely balanced after a dramatic penultimate day at Rally Monza, the final round of the season.

Hyundai Motorsport held a seven-point advantage heading to Italy with 43 points still available from this weekend, but Monza has been anything but a straightforward event. Crews faced treacherous snow-lined routes and increasingly wintry conditions throughout Saturday as the title pendulum swung back and forth with each passing stage.

At the end of another challenging day, Hyundai Motorsport crews hold second and third with all still to fight for on the final morning. Two further stage wins for Dani Sordo enabled him to finish Saturday 17.8-seconds from leader Sébastien Ogier, and 4.3-seconds quicker than team-mate Ott Tänak in third place.

A total of seven stages were planned over a competitive distance of 126.95km, including a repeated trio of new tests – Selvino (SS7/SS10, 25.06km), Gerosa (SS8/SS11, 11.09km) and Costa Valle Imagna (SS9/SS12, 22.17km) on Lombardy’s mountain roads. While the morning loop was completed in full, the afternoon was heavily disrupted.

Incidents on SS10 caused the stage to be cancelled, while there was caution required on the subsequent SS11 as drivers’ championship leader Elfyn Evans crashed out. Snowy conditions in SS12 resulted in another cancellation as crews returned to the Service Park ahead of the evening’s final run through Grand Prix (10.31km).

Overnight rally leaders Sordo and co-driver Carlos del Barrio initially lost ground on their nearest rival but took their third stage win of the weekend in SS8 to reclaim the lead. As conditions worsened during the day, their later starting position saw them increasingly struggle. Tänak and Martin Järveoja kept their cool to move into the podium positions after SS11.

Meanwhile, Thierry Neuville, who retired on Friday’s Autodromo-based stages, did not restart on Saturday and will not play a part in Sunday’s remaining three tests: a third run of Grand Prix and two attempts at the 14.97km Serraglio, the latter of which will act as the Power Stage. Based on the rally so far, if there’s anything to expect from the final day of the 2020 championship, though, it is the unexpected!

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

• Spaniards enjoyed another solid day with two stage wins
• Sordo finished Saturday in second spot, just 17.8-seconds from the leader

Sordo said: “It was another really difficult day. We expected it to be worse because when we saw the conditions yesterday it was already amazing. Honestly, we had one really bad stage today where we lost a bit of time. When the second loop started, I was at the back so perhaps we had worse conditions, but I can’t complain. It was disappointing to see Elfyn and Scott retire in the stage, but I am thankful to them for warning us to slow down. The snow was tricky, and it was the right decision to cancel the afternoon stage (SS12). Tomorrow, we have our focus on trying to secure the manufacturers’ title so we will try to drive safely; in these conditions it’s too easy for something to happen. If we could go flat out but safely that would be nicest!”

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

• Estonians gained two places during Saturday to hold third overall
• A strong performance in difficult conditions, the crew are 4.3s from second place

Tänak said: “This morning, I felt that things were easier than expected. The stages were a bit more consistent, but it was a very different story in the afternoon loop. All in all, it was something incredibly demanding. We were often not with the ideal tyres because we were expecting more rainy, wet conditions, but then – in the middle of the stage – suddenly there was white stuff on the ground. We had to discover this for the first time ourselves, which was far from straightforward. We made it through and the aim for tomorrow is to finish this rally cleanly.”

Team Principal Andrea Adamo: “It has been shown that Rally Monza is a very real rally with real challenges, something that brings memories of Rallye Monte-Carlo at times. We can understand why one stage has been cancelled today, but the actions and the emotions that we have experienced today are really incredible. I hope the fans have enjoyed it. Honestly, it’s been a bit less enjoyable for us; we now have to be focused for the final day. Ott and Dani, together with Martin and Carlos, have done an amazing job, bringing back the cars home safely in tricky, treacherous and fast-changing conditions. I have to say thanks also to the team for how they have behaved and reacted with the challenges we have seen throughout. We have opted not to run the car of Thierry tomorrow, as the damages we have seen are quite important and it would be silly to take any further risks.”

Sunday at a glance

• An early start in Monza will see crews complete their third run through the P Zero Grand Prix stage, which begins at sunrise (although it remains doubtful that the sun will actually make an appearance)
• A flexi service will give the team an opportunity to prepare the cars for the first attempt at the 14.97km Serraglio stage
• The repeat run will act as the Power Stage with extra points available to the five fastest crews, bringing an end to the curtailed 2020 WRC season. 

Classification after Day Two

Press release Hyundai Motorsport