- Hyundai Motorsport will contest the penultimate round of the 2017 FIA World Rally Championship WRC), Wales Rally GB, with a four-car line-up
- Thierry Neuville and Andreas Mikkelsen will be joined by Hayden Paddon and Dani Sordo in the quartet of Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC cars
- The team’s crew line-up for the season finale at Rally Australia will be announced in due course.
Alzenau, Germany
October 2, 2017 – Hyundai Motorsport has confirmed a four-car line-up for the penultimate round of the 2017 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Wales Rally GB.
Drivers’ Championship title contender Thierry Neuville will compete in the gravel event alongside Hayden Paddon, Andreas Mikkelsen and Dani Sordo.
Hyundai Motorsport believes this crew composition will offer the team a competitive line-up for the event, and a chance to keep its Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championship title hopes alive.
Neuville secured the team’s maiden Wales Rally GB podium in last year’s event, while Mikkelsen has also previously registered a top-three finish in the rally.
Paddon will be re-joining the team after missing Rally de España. The event will offer him the ideal opportunity to get back into a competitive rhythm on his favoured surface. Sordo, twice a podium scorer in Wales, will be aiming to emulate his previous feats.
The team’s line-up for the final round of the 2017 season, Rally Australia, will be decided in due course.
Team Principal Michel Nandan said: “We had always retained the hope of running four cars in WalesRally GB. We believe that this competitive line-up gives us a chance of keeping both drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles alive. Thierry scored a podium last year, something Andreas achieved in 2015, so we know their potential there. Hayden has finished strongly in this event previously, so it will be the perfect occasion for him to return to form. Dani, meanwhile, as a previous podium scorer in Wales, will give us a solid benchmark in the fourth car.”
About Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Established on 19 December 2012, Hyundai Motorsport GmbH is responsible for Hyundai’s global motorsport activities and primarily for its World Rally Championship programme. Based in Alzenau on the outskirts of Frankfurt in Germany, the company embarked on its debut season in the FIA World Rally Championship in 2014 with a bespoke team of skilled staff and a brand new car, the Hyundai i20 WRC. The team made a strong impression in its first year claiming podium results in Mexico and Poland, as well as a memorable 1-2 in Germany. In its second season, the team was involved in a closely fought battle for second place in the Manufacturers’ Championship, adding more podiums and stage wins to its tally. For its third year in WRC, Hyundai Motorsport developed a brand new car, the New Generation i20 WRC. The team enjoyed its most successful season to date in 2016 with two victories (Argentina and Sardinia) and a total of 12 individual podium results, finishing second in the Manufacturers’ Championship. With a number of key technical regulation changes introduced for the 2017 season,
Hyundai Motorsport developed a brand new car, the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, with which it is contesting its fourth season. The team registered its first win of 2017 at Tour de Corse before following that up with victories in Rally Argentina and Poland.
