WRC – Hyundai Motorsport has maintained a provisional podium position despite another day of ups and downs in Rally Turkey

Hyundai Motorsport remains in close contention for a podium following the penultimate day of action at Rally Turkey, round 11 of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). 

Saturday’s itinerary covered 110.10km of gruelling gravel stages with a lunchtime service splitting the morning and afternoon loops. The longest stage of the day, the 33km Yesilbelde, made up more than half of the total distance with the shorter Datça (8.75km) and Kizlan (13.15km) tests completing a demanding loop.

Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jæger-Amland made up valuable positions during the day, finding a competitive rhythm in their Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC on the rough gravel stages. The Norwegians moved back into third place overall, taking their second stage win of the weekend in SS9 (Datça).

Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio enjoyed a strong and trouble-free Saturday to hold fifth spot. The Spaniards were part of a fantastic stage 1-2 for the team in SS12 (Datça 2), with Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul securing the fastest time.   

Despite a positive afternoon for the Belgians, overall it was a day of disappointment for the pair after they rolled on the opening Yesilbelde test, losing four minutes of time. They ended the day in eighth overall, a position unrepresentative of their pace on the Turkish roads this weekend.

Crew Notes: Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger-Amland (#89 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

• Strong day for the Norwegians as they moved back into podium contention
• Stage win in SS9 (Datça 1) underscored crew’s confidence in the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC

Mikkelsen said: “We have had a good performance today and been properly on the pace, so there are plenty of positives to take away. I made just one small mistake in the opening loop, in SS8, due to the dust, but otherwise it’s been a pretty faultless day. The car has been working incredibly well which has given us the confidence we needed. Tyre management has again played a key role, and I had high tyre wear by the end of the afternoon loop, but all in all we are in good shape heading into the final day.”

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

• Top-five position for the Spaniards after another solid day
• Supported stage 1-2 for the team in SS12 (Datça 2) with second fastest time

Sordo said: “The objective for us today was to remain in front of our closest rivals in the manufacturers’ championship, and we have managed to do this. It has been another tough day but we have made no mistakes. Our overall strategy was good and we made the most of our tyre choice to maximise our performance across the loop. We now have to focus on the final stages of this rally, knowing that anything can happen, and maintain our advantage.”

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

• Crew lost over four minutes following a roll in SS8 (Yesilbelde)
• Stage win (leading a Hyundai 1-2) in SS12, the team’s fifth of the weekend

Neuville said: “There’s no hiding from the disappointment we are facing from today. We have put so much effort into these fights so it’s hard to take when it could have been easily avoided. It was a very simple thing, a slow right-hander and a tight left; I thought I saw the corner in the dust but it was a small ditch and we ended up on our side. We lost over four minutes of time getting the car back on its wheels. It is what it is, we just have to keep pushing and remain positive. We have seen many times that the situation can turn quickly when the title fight is so close.”

Team Director Andrea Adamo: “It is clear when we look at the overall result that we cannot be happy. Honestly, we are far off the lead of this rally for a number of reasons. We are simply not where we need or want to be. We can only try to take the positives from the event, but it’s little consolation.”

Sunday at a glance

• Four stages make up the final day of Rally Turkey, covering a distance of just 38.62km
• The 7.05km Marmaris stage will open and close the day, acting as the rally concluding Power Stage
• The 11.32km Gökçe and 13.20km Çiçekli stages will split the two Marmaris tests.

Classification after Day Two

Press release Hyundai Motorsport