Hyundai Motorsport played a part in one of the WRC’s closest finishes of all-time. Argentina becomes the first rally where the team has taken repeat victories with a Power Stage finale – just as nail-biting as it was in 2016.
Last season Hyundai took its second ever WRC victory after Hayden Paddon and John Kennard produced a sensational Power Stage performance to eclipse hard-pushing Sébastien Ogier and claim outright victory by 14.3 seconds. The result not only marked Paddon’s debut WRC win, but also the maiden victory for Hyundai Motorsport’s New Generation i20 WRC in only its fourth outing.
With the 2017 result, the team has strengthened its grip on second place in the Manufacturers’ Championship.
“What an incredible finale for a thrilling rally!”, Team Principal Michel Nandan said
“Our congratulations to Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul for a victory that we’ll all remember for a long time, and to Elfyn Evans and M-Sport for putting up such an incredible battle. To win by such a small margin after 360 km is remarkable, and it’s no surprise that it’s one of the closest finishes ever.”
“Argentina is a tough place to come rallying. And we knew it would be hard on these new cars in their first event here. We had our fair share of issues and misfortune across all three cars. But it’s sometimes a question of fighting through to the finish. Hayden Paddon and Dani Sordo’s Power Stage was full of drama, which really summed up their respective rallies. We have plenty of learning lessons from this event, which will use to improve our Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC for the coming gravel events. For now, though, we can celebrate an important victory. We are very happy to become the first team to win two rallies this season. And we hope we can achieve more.”
Michel Nandan e Malcolm Wilson ?? #WRC #HyundaiWRC #MSport #RallyFriends pic.twitter.com/Takap5yBqD
— WRCRali@RTP (@RaliRTP) 30 April 2017
No champagne please ??? #WRC #RallyArgentina pic.twitter.com/YKKICjX16R
— Hyundai Motorsport (@HMSGOfficial) 30 April 2017
