Hyundai Motorsport has claimed a fantastic double podium result with Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville finishing in second and third respectively in Rallye Germany, the ninth round of the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).
In one of the most thrilling finales of the season so far, three driver crews battled it out for second position with Sordo, Neuville and Volkswagen Motorsport driver Andreas Mikkelsen separated by four seconds at the start of Sunday’s final stages.
The fight came right down to the wire – the 14.84km Sauertal Power Stage – following the cancellation of the penultimate stage (SS17 Dhrontal 2). Although Neuville claimed Power Stage honours – and three extra Drivers’ Championship points – it was Sordo who took second place honours.
There was a minuscule 0.1-seconds splitting the Hyundai Shell World Rally team pair at the end of the rally. Hayden Paddon, representing the Hyundai Mobis World Rally Team, held onto fifth spot.
The result sees Hyundai Motorsport consolidate second in the WRC Manufacturers’ standings, breaking through the 200-point barrier (201 to Volkswagen Motorsport’s 256) with four rallies left to contest this season (Corsica, Spain, GB and Australia).
Sordo (#4 New Generation i20 WRC, 2nd place overall) and co-driver Marc Martí bounced back in style this weekend, after being forced to skip Rally Finland. The Spanish crew started Sunday with a stunning stage win (SS15 Dhrontal 1) and fended off a hard-charging Neuville to take their first podium of 2016 in spectacular style.
Neuville (#3 New Generation i20 WRC, 3rd place overall) and co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul pushed hard to claim their third podium result of the season, following third in Monte-Carlo and their victory in Sardinia. The Belgians won both Sauertal stages today (SS16 and SS18) to take their total of stage wins to five this weekend, and to pick up three extra points for a fine Power Stage victory.
Today’s result marks the first double podium result of the season for Hyundai Motorsport – representing the team’s sixth and seventh podiums of 2016. It also heralds a return to the German podium for the first time since Neuville and Sordo finished 1-2 in the team’s debut season in 2014.
