Hyundai Motorsport will resume its increasing competitive form when the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) returns from a short summer break at Rally Finland this weekend.
The eighth round of the season will pick up where Rally Poland left off with high speeds requiring precision and commitment from the drivers. Coupled with Finland’s famous jumps, the rally is one of the most highly anticipated of the year for teams, drivers and fans alike.
Hyundai Motorsport will return to a three-car entry for this rally following a strong performance last time out in which all four of the entered Hyundai i20 WRC cars completed the event with two cars securing top-six results. The team is chasing down second place in the Manufacturers’ Championship so will be out to seek another good points haul in Finland.
Thierry Neuville (#7 Hyundai i20 WRC) and Dani Sordo (#8 Hyundai i20 WRC) will once again represent the Hyundai Shell World Rally Team while Hayden Paddon (#20 Hyundai i20 WRC) will be the sole entrant for the Hyundai Mobis World Rally Team in Finland.
Rally Finland is flat out from start to finish, 20 stages on smooth gravel roads await the drivers alongside picturesque forests and lakes. Like Poland earlier this month, the consistently fast nature of the rally will require co-drivers to deliver pinpoint accuracy in the pace notes.
Team Principal Michel Nandan said: “Rally Finland is the first rally after the summer break and it is another fast rally with a lot of surprises and some very technical stages. There are some similarities between Rally Poland and Finland – both of the rallies are contested at high speed. The only difference between the two is that we will have more jumps in Finland, which makes a much stronger impression upon the drivers and the spectators. We had a good run in Poland but there were some real positives to our performance level. Hayden will be confident in his driving after his recent successes, as well as Thierry. Dani hopes to return to form after some difficulties. Poland, of course, was our first ever rally with four cars and, with all four finishing, we are confident heading to Finland. We hope to make another step towards our aim of reclaiming second place in the Championship.”
