Hyundai Motorsport: Rally de Portugal Report.

• Hyundai Motorsport has claimed its 50th podium finish in a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), taking second place in Rally de Portugal
• On an incident-filled final morning, Thierry Neuville finished 15.9 seconds from victory, taking his fifth podium of the 2019 season
• Dani Sordo and Sébastien Loeb endured a tough rally but Hyundai Motorsport has retained its lead in the manufacturers’ championship by 20 points

Hyundai Motorsport has secured a podium finish in Rally de Portugal, the seventh round of the 14-event FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), as Thierry Neuville and co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul took second place. The result marks Hyundai Motorsport’s 50^th WRC podium in total.

Crews negotiated five stages on the final morning including two runs through Montim (SS16/SS19), a single attempt at Luilhas (SS18) and twice through Fafe (SS17/20). Fans flocked to the famous jump to see the WRC cars fly through in spectacular fashion, bringing the rally to a fitting finale as the Power Stage.

Starting the final day with a nine-second deficit to rally leader Ott Tänak, Neuville gave it his maximum to claim his fifth podium of the season to date with a fine run to second, as well as taking four Power Stage points. Consequently, he retains his third place in the drivers’ standings on 132, eight points behind Tänak and ten adrift of Sébastien Ogier.

A frustrating rally for Dani Sordo and Sébastien Loeb saw them support the team to the fullest as they persevered to the very end with the Spaniard picking up a consolatory Power Stage point. The team has kept hold of its lead in the manufacturers’ championship, although the gap has been reduced to 20.

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

• Fifth podium of 2019 after Monte-Carlo, Sweden, Corsica and Argentina
• Five stage wins and four Power Stage points showed Belgians’ pace

Team Director Andrea Adamo:“I have three main feelings at the end of this rally: the first is massive respect to our crews. Thierry and Nicolas are having a great season with the tools we are giving them and they thoroughly deserve this second place. They continue to score results that flatter our performance level. Secondly, I remain upset that our issues on Friday prevented our two other crews Dani/Carlos and Sébastien/Daniel from competing for the podium; another missed opportunity. It is also clear, overall, that we are missing some pace compared to our immediate rivals. We are here to fight for victories and this is the most important thing on which we must focus as a team.”

Next rally

• The WRC’s run of gravel events continues onto Sardinia in two weeks’ time
• Rally Italia Sardegna takes place 13-16 June with Neuville/Gilsoul, Mikkelsen/Jæger-Amland and Sordo/Del Barrio on driving duties in the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC

Final Overall Classification – Rally de Portugal

2019 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standing (after round 7)

2019 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings (after round 7)