Hyundai Motorsport customer results round-up bulletin

• Nicolas Ciamin started the French rally championship with a dominant win at Rallye Le Touquet – Pas-de-Calais on his competitive debut with the i20 N Rally 2
• At the West Cork Rally, driver Josh Moffett continued his excellent start to the 2022 season by taking a second win in as many Irish Tarmac Rally Championship events in his i20 R5
• With a second place at Sebring International Raceway Elantra N TCR, drivers Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis moved into the TCR class points lead of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge

Victories in France and Ireland and national podiums in the Belgian and Portuguese national championships continued our rallying customers’ fast start to the 2022 season with both the i20 N Rally2 and the i20 R5. In Spain, Iván Ares scored a first victory with his new car, while Fabrizio Zaldivar christened his new charge with a stage win in Paraguay. Hyundai teams also impressed in TCR competition, where Elantra N TCR drivers lead the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge standings after two rounds of the US-based series.

Customer Racing Junior Drivers starts French season with dominant win

Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Junior Driver Nicolas Ciamin made a perfect start to his season in the French rally championship as he dominated Rallye Le Touquet – Pas-de-Calais (March 18-19) in an i20 N Rally2. In their first event with the car – run through the weekend by 2C Competition – Ciamin and co-driver Yannick Roche proved their pace beyond all doubt on the opening day. They won all but one of the six stages to first take the lead, and then build an advantage.
 
Their margin overnight allowed them to manage their pace on the second day of competition, though still adding three more top times to their impressive tally to help them best their nearest challengers by more than 20 seconds.

West Cork victory keeps up remarkable start to Irish season

Josh Moffett continued his amazing start to the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship with a second win in as many events this year at the West Cork Rally (March 19-20). Despite winning half of the stages on day one of the rally, he and co-driver Andy Hayes were limited to second at the overnight halt.
 
However, they took the lead early on the following day before stretching their margin with two more stage victories, while also making use of the reliability of his i20 R5 as his would-be rivals dropped out of contention with technical problems. As a result, they won overall by more than 20 seconds.

Munster takes podium on national championship return

On his return to national championship action, Grégoire Munster took his i20 N Rally2 to second overall at the South Belgian Rally (March 18-19). The runner-up in the 2021 points race was consistent through the 12 stages of the event – claiming one top time, and never dropping outside the top four on any test.
 
That pace allowed the Customer Racing Junior Driver to establish himself on the podium and kept him in contention for victory until the final stage, completing the event 11 seconds slower than the winner.
 
In the same rally, French driver Emile Breittmayer made his first start with an i20 R5, his car – like Munster’s – run by the BMA team. On his debut in R5 machinery, he finished 13^th in class.

Hyundai Portugal-supported driver takes national podium in the Azores

Team Hyundai Portugal’s Bruno Magalhães finished sixth overall on the Azores Rallye (March 25-27). More importantly, as the European Rally Championship and Portuguese national series again shared a Service Park, the performance put him third of the drivers in the domestic contest.
 
He showed excellent pace in the damp conditions of Sunday morning’s stages – moving into the top ten overall on the strength of his performance. On the final loop, he struggled with the handling of the car, but was still able to hold his position.
 
Teammate Ricardo Teodósio also had the pace to compete for a top five in the national championship as he continues to learn about the i20 N Rally2. However, a mistake in slippery conditions damaged the right-rear corner of the car and forced him to retire.

Paraguayan team show pace of i20 N Rally2 and i20 R5

Fabrizio Zaldivar made a fantastic start to his first event in a new i20 N Rally2, winning the Friday night Super Special Stage to begin Rally Trans Itapúa (March 24-27), the second round of the Paraguayan national championship, and the opener for the FIA CODASUR series.
 
Focused on gaining experience in the car ahead of a season which will also see him join Hyundai Motorsport’s WRC2 line-up, he was consistent through the event to finish eighth overall despite his Automotor Rally Team also working with the i20 N Rally2 for the first time.
 
Diego Dominguez Jr. showed strong pace in the i20 R5, with four top ten times before he was taken out of contention.

Class podiums for i20 R5 and i20 Coupe WRC in US event

i20 R5 driver Enda McCormack completed the class podium at the second round of the American Rally Association season – the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood (March 18-19). On his first start of 2022, he set the best time in class once – on SS8 – while he was part of a tight battle in the middle of the top ten overall, eventually finishing seventh overall.
 
Also at the Missouri-based event, Ken Block entered his first weekend with an i20 Coupe WRC. The veteran of both rally and rallycross – as well as his gymkhana showcases – was leading comfortably overall after winning seven of the first ten stages overall. Unfortunately, on the final competitive run Block hit a deer, heavily damaging the front of the car as well as the gearbox, which became stuck in fourth gear. Though he made it to the end of the test, it was with the loss of a minute, as he dropped into second in the final standings.

Ares scores first victory with i20 N Rally2

Iván Ares scored his first win with his i20 N Rally2 at the Rally de A Coruña (March 18-19). He and co-driver David Vásquez dominated the tarmac event as they gained more time with the new car. They won six of the nine stages and led throughout. The pair won overall by half a minute.

Top six results on Czech event

Two Hyundai customers finished in the top six of the Pražský Rallysprint (March 26). In the Kowax 2BRally-run i20 N Rally2, Martin Vlček finished on the overall podium in third at the end of a strong event for him and co-driver Markéta Skácelová. In an i20 R5, Ondřej Bisaha finished sixth overall, partly thanks to a second fastest time on the final stage that allowed him to gain three places.

Second place lefts Elantra N TCR pair into IMSA points’ lead

Elantra N TCR pairing Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis moved into the points’ lead in the TCR class of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge after their second place finish at Sebring International Raceway (March 16-17). On a dramatic last lap following a late restar,t Lewis first took the lead, and then lost it again after minor contact. Happily, the result – combined with their identical podium from Daytona season opener – put the defending class champions atop the class standings.

The Hyundai Motor America-supported Bryan Herta Autosport team dominated qualifying and the early part of the race with their six Elantra N TCR. Mason Filippi and Robert Wickens respectively started the #77 and #33 cars from the front row, with both drivers taking turns in the lead before the first pitstops.

The #19 Van der Steur Racing Veloster N TCR of Rory van der Steur and Tyler Gonzalez finished the two-hour race in sixth ahead of trio of Bryan Herta Autosport Elantra N TCR in the #98 (Harry Gottsacker, Parker Chase), #2 (A.J. Muss, Ryan Norman), and #54 (Michael Johnson, Stephen Simpson).

Top ten finishes for i30 N TCR drivers in TCR Australia

The HMO Customer Racing i30 N TCR claimed top ten finishes during the second round of the TCR Australia season at Phillip Island (March 18-20). Nathan Morcom bounced back from a mechanical issue in Race 1 to drive through the field to take ninth in Race 2, when he was joined in the top ten by i30 N TCR privateer Brad Sheils, himself recovering from a problem in qualifying.

Series rookie Bailey Sweeny then scored a ninth place of his own in Race 3, while Morcom finished 11th. Josh Buchan was one of many drivers caught out by red flag in qualifying, ending the weekend with a best finish of 14th.