Hyundai Motorsport travels to the Rally of Wales with two major objectives, to fight for the podium and get rid of the title on trademarks of Volkswagen. In both missions, Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo are the protagonists, the whole time that the two riders have been nominated to score points with the first two cars of the Korean company. For his part, Hayden Paddon will race the third Hyundai i20 WRC, without pressure and with the great advantage of competing on gravel. The pilot new zealand has not had a performance that is brilliant on the asphalt and in Wales they will feel much more at ease.
Thierry Neuville if you know what it is to score a podium in the Rally of Wales. It was in the 2013 season, when he still competed with the Fiesta RS WRC of M-Sport. In his time at Hyundai, the belgian finished fourth in 2014 and had to retire in the last edition of the test, so that comes with a special illusion to a rally in which he will continue with his battle for second place with Andreas Mikkelsen: “This is a rally very fast and exciting, especially for the sections so narrow that we have to go in the middle of the woods”.
Although it seems that on this occasion, the Rally of Wales GB will not count the rain as a guest, the result of the contest two weeks earlier than had been usual in the past few years, the belgian driver recalls the difficulty of the test by the different degrees of grip on the mud: “If it rains, the gravel is wet it can make the competition very interesting, I say this from pure experience. All in all, we want to be fighting for the podium again and we are confident that we can do it whatever the circumstances“.
For his part, Dani Sordo arrives in Wales in a good moment of form. The Spanish added a great Rally RACC Catalunya and although he could not prevent the victory of Sébastien Ogier, showed a remarkable performance at the wheel of the Hyundai i20 WRC. The first stage in Salou on the flights busbars can be the great sample of the level that you can reach the cantabrian forests in the british: “The Rally of Wales GB is a special test for all and provides a great experience. It is an appointment of great renown in the calendar of the WRC”.
Dani Sordo also knows what it is to reach the podium in Wales. In 2008 and 2008 finished third at the wheel of the Citroën C4 WRC. At the gates of the same was in 2015 when it finished fourth, a result that is expected to improve this year. The pilot cantabria fact, it has been shown to be very ambitious in the days leading up to the test: “we Had a rally amazing in Spain. We were seconds and the goal is to try to repeat it here in the Rally of Wales. We’re going to fight for it”.
Hayden Paddon is competing with a lot less pressure than their peers
brand. In the first place because what makes the controls in the third Hyundai i20
The WRC and the second because it does not have a great background in this test, in which a
fifth place for improvement as his best result. All in all, the new zealander has
eager to return to the action: “despite being one of my rallies favorites of the season,
I’ve never been able to get a good result on the Rally of Wales GB. It is something
I want to amend definitely this year. We’re ready for it”.
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