NEWS: Dramatic WRC Germany nets Hyundai Motorsport 1-2
Wow... what a Rallye Deutschland!
In case you missed the dramatic tarmac tearing action... here's a brief summary:
First, the freshly married Sebastian Ogier crashed out of the lead, swiftly followed by VW team mate Yari Matti Latvala. Then our very own superstar Brit, Kris Meeke took the lead in his Citroen DS3, before also crashing out!
That left the door wide open for the Hyundai i20's of Thierry Neuville (who had crashed out in shakedown!) to take his debut WRC win, and last year’s Rallye Deutschland winner, Dani Sordo, to claim second spot in his Hyundai i20 WRC, giving the new WRC team something truly remarkable to celebrate on their "home" rally.
VW's hollywood superstar and third driver, Andreas Mikkelsen nailed third spot – his best ever result on tarmac, proving how far he's come in a year.
And to top it all off nicely, young gun Welsh super star, M-Sport's Elfyn Evans claimed his best ever WRC result, in his first ever season, with a stunning forth place.
Insane!
The uber-cool young WRC star, Thierry Neuville said: “I am really happy for the entire Hyundai Shell World Rally Team and everyone back at the factory in Alzenau. Everyone has worked so hard in the past year to get us to where we are this season so to celebrate my debut WRC win with them is very special. It is even better that we have a 1-2 in our home event. I am particularly thankful for the team’s hard work this weekend. They did a fantastic job after our roll on Thursday to get the car repaired which makes this result more incredible. We have had three competitive days and we have been able to put the pressure on. Of course, it was a shame to see Jari Matti (Latvala) and Kris (Meeke) retire this morning, but that reinforced the need for us to remain focussed and concentrated. The conditions were very difficult so we had to take it steady to the end. It’s a great result and one which we will certainly never forget.”
Sordo said: “This is a great result for the whole team and a testament to all the people who work so hard in the team and at the factory. To get our first 1-2 is fantastic. Normally, I would prefer to be the one scoring the win but I am happy with second and I am pleased for Thierry. It has been a tough rally so we were focussed on getting to the finish safely. I have to say the team has really developed a lot since I was last competing, both in terms of the operations and the car performance. We can really use this result to continue our momentum and our learning in our first year."
Hyundai Team Principal Michel Nandan said: “I feel a little bit like I am still dreaming. We could never imagine that coming here, in just our ninth WRC rally, that we would be celebrating a 1-2 result. It is quite remarkable and very special. It has been a busy weekend with some tough conditions and requiring everyone to be at the absolute top of their game. Our team has been absolutely first class and it is thanks to each of them – here and at Alzenau – that we have this result today. The drivers have been on competitive form since the first stage and they thoroughly deserve this. To see Thierry take his first win and Dani on the podium is wonderful. We wanted to use this year as a learning year and we won’t let this result carry us away. However, we have made continuous progress and our Hyundai i20 WRC is improving all the time. We benefitted from the unfortunate retirement of other drivers today but we were genuinely fighting for the podium and that reflects the progress we have made as a team. For now, we will enjoy the moment and thank everyone for their support of our young team.”
Hyundai Team Principal Michel Nandan said: “I feel a little bit like I am still dreaming. We could never imagine that coming here, in just our ninth WRC rally, that we would be celebrating a 1-2 result. It is quite remarkable and very special. It has been a busy weekend with some tough conditions and requiring everyone to be at the absolute top of their game. Our team has been absolutely first class and it is thanks to each of them – here and at Alzenau – that we have this result today. The drivers have been on competitive form since the first stage and they thoroughly deserve this. To see Thierry take his first win and Dani on the podium is wonderful. We wanted to use this year as a learning year and we won’t let this result carry us away. However, we have made continuous progress and our Hyundai i20 WRC is improving all the time. We benefitted from the unfortunate retirement of other drivers today but we were genuinely fighting for the podium and that reflects the progress we have made as a team. For now, we will enjoy the moment and thank everyone for their support of our young team.”
WRC Germany Overall Final Classification
- T. Neuville / N. Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) 3:07:20.2
- D. Sordo / M. Martí (Hyundai i20 WRC) +40.7
- A. Mikkelsen / O. Floene (Volkswagen Polo R WRC) +58.0
- E. Evans / D. Barritt (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +1:03.6
- M. Hirvonen / J. Lehtinen (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +1:10.5
- M. Østberg / J. Andersson (Citroën DS3 WRC) +1:22.7
- M. Prokop / J. Tomanek (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +4:52.8
- D. Kuipers / R. Buysmans (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +9:18.1
- P. Tidemand / E. Axelsson (Ford Fiesta R5) +11:35.4
- O. Tanak / R. Molder (Ford Fiesta R5) +11:37.2
S. Ogier 187 points / J.M. Latvala 143 / A. Mikkelsen 110 / M. Østberg 74 / T. Neuville 73 / M. Hirvonen 73 / E. Evans 57 / K. Meeke 54 / M. Prokop 37 / H. Solberg 26 / J. Hänninen 20 / B. Bouffier 18 / D. Sordo 18 / R. Kubica 12 / O. Tanak 11 / B. Guerra 8 / H. Paddon 8 / C. Atkinson 6 / P. Tidemand 6 / J. Melicharek 4 / D. Kuipers 4 / N. Al-Attyiah 3 / M. Gamba 2 / C. Breen 2 / J. Protasov 2 / L. Bertelli 2 / J. Ketomaa 1 / K. Al Qassimi 1 / K. Kruuda 1
2014 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
Volkswagen Motorsport 305 points / Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team 138 / Hyundai Motorsport 131/ M-Sport World Rally Team 128 / Volkswagen Motorsport II 109 / Jipocar Czech National Team 42 / RK M-Sport World Rally Team 21 / Hyundai Motorsport N 12
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