Hyundai Motorsport has extended its lead in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with a competitive double podium finish in the fifth round of the season, Rally Argentina.
Thierry Neuville claimed his third podium result of the season – second place. He finished two places ahead of Sébastien Ogier while taking maximum points in the Power Stage. This way the Belgian has been able to reduce the gap in the drivers’ championship to ten points.
Dani Sordo completed the 18-stage rally in third place overall, registering his second gravel podium of the season after finishing second in Mexico last month. The Spaniard moves up to fifth in the drivers’ table after a strong weekend.
Join us in wishing a very Happy Birthday to @DaniSordo ????¡Feliz cumpleaños, Dani! #WRC pic.twitter.com/j0qJvpgpPX
— Hyundai Motorsport (@HMSGOfficial) May 2, 2018
Andreas Mikkelsen ensured all three Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team crews finished inside the top-five on the Argentinian gravel, pushing Ogier hard on the final morning but ultimately finishing behind the Frenchman in fifth. The Norwegian’s performance on the Power Stage added three points to his championship tally.
Hyundai has extended its WRC lead with a double podium in Argentina
“A good result for our team, and I think that is the best we could have achieved. Congratulations to Ott [Tanak] and Toyota on a supreme victory. They were beyond anyone’s reach and thoroughly deserve this result. We set out to secure podium finishes with Thierry/Nicolas and Dani/Carlos, and the crews did everything we asked of them.”
“The result has helped us to increase the manufacturers’ championship lead slightly but Argentina has been another reminder that the competition is incredibly close this season. I said after Corsica that I wanted a stronger all-around team performance. With all three crews inside the top-five, stage wins for all crews and our second double podium of the season, I would say it’s a job well done”, Team Principal Michel Nandan said.
Take a heli view of @rallyargentina in the first ‘best of’ video from our double podium result ?????#HMSGOfficial #RallyArgentina @OfficialWRC pic.twitter.com/jbPqTWR8OF
— Hyundai Motorsport (@HMSGOfficial) May 1, 2018
Mikkelsen added: “Firstly, I extend my congratulations to Thierry, Nicolas, Dani and Carlos for their podium results here in Argentina. From the team’s point of view, it was a very competitive weekend with all three cars inside the top-five. We had a positive final day with a stage win, a second place and three points from the Power Stage. Obviously, we would have liked to fight those couple of places higher up. But unfortunately, our time loss on Friday prevented us from doing that. It has been a very closely fought and tough weekend, which has been a pretty good start to the run of gravel events.”
