26 August 2019 - Hyundai Motorsport has enjoyed a strong finish to Rallye Deutschland, round ten of the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), but had to settle for a best finish of fourth place after a weekend of mixed feelings.

Sunday’s itinerary was not a straightforward stroll through the vineyards for crews with 80km of special stages left to contest. A repeat loop of the 28.06km Grafschaft and 11.69km Dhrontal tests, the latter being run as the Power Stage, brought Rallye Deutschland to its conclusion.

Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team crews were at the heart of the action on the final morning. Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul led a Hyundai 1-2 in both runs through Grafschaft, ahead of their Spanish colleagues Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio.

Neuville won three out of the four stages on Sunday morning, including a masterful performance in the Power Stage for which he was rewarded with five extra points. In fact, the Belgian and Spanish crews have been on competitive form all weekend, taking eight stage wins between them and regularly competing inside the top-two.

Hyundai Motorsport remains at the top of the manufacturers championship with an eight-point advantage and four rounds of the 2019 season remaining: Turkey, Spain, Wales GB and Australia. Neuville moves up to second in the drivers’ standings on 172 points.

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (#11 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

• Stage wins in SS16 and SS18 (Grafschaft) brought weekend total to six
• Moves back up to second in the drivers’ table on 172 points

• Consistently strong performance from the Spanish crew over the weekend
• Reliability issue on Friday prevented podium push

• Steady Sunday for the Norwegians as they completed their first tarmac event of 2019
• Sixth place overall with improvements made across the weekend

Team Director Andrea Adamo: “If you look at the final results, it could appear that we have not had the necessary performance this weekend. However, considering the overall car and crew package, we have shown competitive pace. Thierry and Nicolas were fighting for the lead of the rally before their puncture on Saturday. I don’t think anyone would have expected it to be so close prior to the start of the weekend. Dani and Carlos, too, have been on strong form. Without a reliability problem, they would surely have been in the mix. This is where we cannot be happy; it is another occasion where we have wasted a good opportunity. We have to be in control of our own destiny, and that means being high-performing and reliable in every single area of our operation. We can’t wait for others to have problems to get results. This is not how we should come rallying or racing. So, in summary, our car performance in Germany has been good but our team performance has not. We have to do better.”

Next rally

• The FIA World Rally Championship moves back to gravel roads for the next round of the season, Rally Turkey, next month
• The 11^th of 14 events on the 2019 WRC calendar takes place 12-15 September.

Final Overall Classification – Rallye Deutschland