Podium finish for Hyundai Motorsport in Safari Rally Kenya
- Hyundai Motorsport picked up a podium finish in Safari Rally Kenya, despite long-time rally leader Thierry Neuville retiring on Sunday’s opening stage
- Ott Tänak finished in third place, his first podium since Arctic Rally Finland, and took maximum points with a committed Power Stage drive
- Dani Sordo brought his Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC home to claim a solitary point in the final stage after another rally that had promised more
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Hyundai Motorsport endured a heart-breaking final day at Safari Rally Kenya as long-time rally leaders Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe retired from the event on the opening stage.
The Belgian crew had built up a 57.4-second advantage heading into Sunday morning but suffered a broken rear-right damper in the 11.33-kilometre Loldia test. Despite getting the car to the stage finish, and retaining the rally lead, the damage was too great for the crew to continue.
Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja picked up a podium finish for the team with third place, having themselves been hampered on Saturday afternoon’s wet final stage. The result marks their first podium since taking victory in February’s Arctic Rally Finland.
Sunday’s five stages included a repeated loop of Loldia (SS14/17) and Hell’s Gate (SS15/18), with a solitary run through Malewa (SS16).
For Dani Sordo and Borja Rozada, who retired on Friday after hitting a rock in the SS3 Kedong test, the focus was on making it safely through the final stages and battling for extra points in the Power Stage. A committed drive from Tänak scored the maximum points on offer in the repeat run through Hell’s Gate, while Sordo took an extra point for the fifth-fastest time.
Overall, Safari Rally Kenya delivered an unrelenting challenge to crews and teams with punishing stages, unpredictable conditions and surprises at each turn. Unfortunately, despite negotiating the rugged and rutted terrain on Friday, and a sudden downpour on Saturday afternoon, it was ultimately another frustrating weekend for the two-time defending manufacturers’ champions. At the halfway point of the championship, Hyundai Motorsport holds second place in the manufacturers’ classification, 59 points from the leaders.
Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
- Estonians finished third to take their first podium since Arctic Rally Finland in February
- Five extra points for the fastest time in the Hell’s Gate Power Stage
On the one hand, it is good to be back on the podium and to take maximum Power Stage points, but this has been another difficult weekend for the team. My approach to this event has been to drive at 50-60% of my maximum, to not make any mistakes and to be as smooth as possible. Friday was demanding, just as Safari Rally needs to be, and it was like that again this morning. It has been an impressive event, and enjoyable to do something different and unique, for instance, the fesh-fesh on Friday, which was very challenging and like an adventure. It is a shame for Thierry that it didn’t work out for him this weekend. We now head back to Estonia, my home event, which should be fun.
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
- Retired after completing SS14 with a broken rear-right damper
- Belgian crew had been leading by almost one minute after an impressive performance
This is a big disappointment, not just for me but also for the whole team. It’s a tough time at the moment, as a team standing together, retiring from the lead for the third rally in a row. Basically, we came to a very slow corner, and at the exit suddenly I felt something break on the car. We tried to finish the stage but after investigation, we saw that the damper had exploded, and we had to stop there. We knew this would be a tough event, but we were prepared for it and did the job – me and Martijn in the car, the mechanics, everyone. I enjoyed the weekend and had good fun. I felt comfortable in the car, we were fast and controlling the speed throughout the event, so there are lots of positives to take away. The motivation is still there we are just missing the luck, but we will regroup, find solutions and come back stronger as a team.
Crew Notes: Dani Sordo/Borja Rozada (#6 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
- Retirement on Friday’s SS3 stage prevented the Spaniards from being in the fight
- Fifth place in the Power Stage secured an extra championship point
It has not really been a good weekend for us. We had our problem on the first day, and we lost all of our possibilities to fight for a strong result then. After that, we hoped Thierry and Ott would be able to take some points, but it was unfortunately not straightforward. As a team, we are going through a bad period, but I am sure things will change. We will work through this situation together and come back stronger.
We cannot be happy. This is the third rally in a row in which we have had problems, so it cannot be considered bad luck. There are no excuses, it simply should not happen. We have to understand what is going on. We have the same parts as we used last year, in events such as Turkey and Sardinia; we have improved the performance, but we are lacking in reliability, and we need to understand why. It’s simply unacceptable.
Next rally
- The 2021 FIA World Rally Championship moves onto Rally Estonia for round seven, taking place from July 15-18
- Hyundai Motorsport registered a 1-2 finish in last year’s event with Ott Tänak and Craig Breen
- Breen will return for this year’s Estonian round, joining home hero Tänak and Thierry Neuville in the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC cars.
Final Overall Classification – Safari Rally Kenya
- S. Ogier/J. Ingrassia | Toyota Yaris WRC | 3:18:11.3
- T. Katsuta/D. Barritt | Toyota Yaris WRC | +21.8
- O. Tänak/M. Järveoja | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | +1:09.5
- G. Greensmith/C. Patterson | Ford Fiesta WRC | +1:44.7
- A. Fourmaux/R. Jamoul | Ford Fiesta WRC | +1:54.6
- K. Rovanperä/J. Halttunen | Toyota Yaris WRC | +10:53.4
- O. Rai/D. Sturrock | Volkswagen Polo GTI | +29:26.4
- K. Patel/T. Khan | Ford Fiesta R5 | +33:30.4
- C. Tundo/T. Jessop | Volkswagen Polo GTI | +36:40.7
- E. Evans/S. Martin | Toyota Yaris WRC | +49:22.7
2021 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 6
- Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team | 273
- Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | 214
- M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | 109
- Hyundai 2C Competition | 28
2021 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 6
- S. Ogier | 133
- E. Evans | 99
- T. Neuville | 77
- O. Tänak | 69
- T. Katsuta | 66
- K. Rovanperä | 56
- A. Fourmaux | 32
- G. Greensmith | 32
- D. Sordo | 31
- C. Breen | 24
All results remain subject to official FIA confirmation.
Contacts
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Wolfgang Würth
Director PR & Communications
wolfgang.wuerth@hyundai-europe.comAdriana Cerami
Head of Corporate & Brand PR
acerami@hyundai-europe.comElvira Vella-Herrera
Executive & Internal Communications Senior Expert
eherrera@hyundai-europe.comMaria Bricio
Corporate & Brand Communications Expert
mbricio@hyundai-europe.comPatricia Lammers
Corporate Communications Expert
patricia.lammers@hyundai-europe.comConor Twomey
Head of Product PR
conor.twomey@hyundai-europe.comAdrian Péré
Product PR Manager
apere@hyundai-europe.comKatharina Kupper
Hyundai Newsroom Lead
