Hyundai Motorsport WRC Preview: Round 3 - Safari Rally Kenya

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)

• Belgians led three 1-2-3s on Sunday to bring stage win total to five
• Neuville remains first in drivers’ battle with six point advantage

Neuville said: “A good weekend, but for sure we could have done better. Unfortunately we got hit by some problems but despite this, we kept fighting. Today there was an opportunity to take loads of points – we scored 11 out of 12, so we’re satisfied to be the second best performer today. We would have loved to get more, especially after three consecutive difficult years here in Kenya. Still room for improvement but we have managed to increase the lead in the championship and got a good road position for Croatia. On to the next one!”
 
Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)

• Estonians top Super Sunday standings after superb drive
• Bounced back from Friday issues to move into fourth in drivers’ standings

Tänak said: “Our target was always not to push to the maximum, but to aim for the podium with a clean run, so our retirement on Friday was of course frustrating. Although we had to face a number of issues in the car and on the road our troubles had nothing to do with reliability. Our pace is definitely getting closer to the others. Croatia will be a completely different rally even to Monte-Carlo, so let’s see how we do. We want to get back on track; the championship is very young but we need to get back into our normal rhythm.”
 
Crew Notes: Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (#4 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)

• Finns continued to show strong speed with four top-three finishes
• Crew recovered from Friday retirement to score four points on Sunday

Lappi said: “The speed this weekend was good from the beginning, even yesterday when we were opening the road, so we need to be pleased with that. All of our cars were quite competitive in terms of pace but unfortunately reliability was not with us this weekend and that is reflected in the results. At least my team-mates were able to get a lot of points from today and it was great to get that 1-2-3 in the Power Stage. I am looking forward to my next event with the team.”
 
Hyundai Motorsport President and Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “Teamwork is probably the key word of the weekend at an event that always presents a number of challenges for crews, but unfortunately a bit more for ours. Some of them were a natural part of Safari Rally Kenya but others were self-inflicted by residual weaknesses of our cars. Our pace has been very good and on par with our closest competitor at an event where we were so behind last year – it is good to see the progress we have achieved in less than a year. It is down to the fantastic work over winter at the factory, but recovering from all of the chaos we faced over the course of this weekend has been down to the great teamwork and long hours from everyone here pushing and keeping their heads up. I particularly loved that final 1-2-3 from our crews; it is a demonstration of the capabilities of our car, but also of the mindset that must prevail in this championship in any given situation.”