Hyundai Motorsport managed to take third spot on the podium at Rally de España WRC event thanks to local hero Dani Sordo.
In the final power stage leader of Rally De Espana Sébastien Ogier crashed his Volkswagen Polo R out of the race gifting the final podium spot to Sordo.
Speaking after the race Dani Sordo said: “I am so happy with this result and our performance this weekend. We fought hard for a podium result and it was looking like we were going to have to settle for fourth place, which would still have been a great result.
Of course it is never nice to benefit from the misfortune of others but to be on the podium in front of the Spanish crowd is just fantastic. We knew it would be hard to break into the top-three but we never gave up and the outcome of this rally shows that you can never be sure of anything until the very end.
We have some important points for the Championship and something nice to celebrate with the team and with the fans. It’s a positive thing to take into the final rally of the season, which will be decisive in our push for second in the Championship.”
Kiwi driver Hayden Paddon managed to drag his Hyundai i20 over the line in sixth place.
Number one Hyundai Motorsport driver Thierry Neuville finished eighth after transmission trouble say him slip down the pecking order on the final day.
With Sordo’s third placing Hyundai are now in striking distance of 2nd placed in the Constructors championship with the deficit to second-placed Citroën World Rally Team just four points.
With so much on the line expect the German based Korean team to pullout all of the stops in the final Wales Rally GB that kicks of in mid-November.
Rally de España Results:
|
Pos |
Driver |
Team |
Car |
Gap |
|
1 |
Andreas Mikkelsen |
Volkswagen Motorsport II |
Volkswagen |
3h21m04.8s |
|
2 |
Jari-Matti Latvala |
Volkswagen Motorsport |
Volkswagen |
3.1s |
|
3 |
Dani Sordo |
Hyundai Motorsport |
Hyundai |
21.2s |
|
4 |
Mads Ostberg |
Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT |
Citroen |
1m06.3s |
|
5 |
Kris Meeke |
Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT |
Citroen |
1m08.2s |
|
6 |
Hayden Paddon |
Hyundai Motorsport N |
Hyundai |
1m23.3s |
|
7 |
Martin Prokop |
Jipocar Czech National Team |
Ford |
4m14.2s |
|
8 |
Thierry Neuville |
Hyundai Motorsport |
Hyundai |
8m01.9s |
|
9 |
Pontus Tidemand |
Skoda Motorsport |
Skoda |
8m56.8s |
|
10 |
Jan Kopecky |
Škoda Motorsport II |
Skoda |
9m07.5s |
DRIVERS´ STANDINGS
|
Pos |
Driver |
Total |
|
Sébastien Ogier |
238 |
|
|
Jari-Matti Latvala |
180 |
|
|
Andreas Mikkelsen |
154 |
|
|
Mads Østberg |
110 |
|
|
Kris Meeke |
94 |
|
|
Thierry Neuville |
90 |
|
|
Elfyn Evans |
81 |
|
|
Dani Sordo |
77 |
|
|
Hayden Paddon |
74 |
|
|
Ott Tanak |
63 |
|
|
Martin Prokop |
39 |
|
|
Khalid Al Qassimi |
9 |
|
|
Juho Hanninen |
8 |
|
|
Yuriy Protasov |
8 |
|
|
Robert Kubica |
8 |
|
|
Nasser Al-Attiyah |
7 |
|
|
Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari |
6 |
|
|
Sébastien Loeb |
6 |
|
|
Esapekka Lappi |
4 |
|
|
Diego Dominguez |
4 |
|
|
Paolo Andreucci |
4 |
|
|
Bryan Bouffier |
4 |
|
|
Pontus Tidemand |
4 |
|
|
Jan Kopecky |
3 |
|
|
Nicolas Fuchs |
2 |
|
|
Gustavo Saba |
2 |
|
|
Stéphane Sarrazin |
2 |
|
|
Stephane Lefebvre |
1 |
|
|
Jari Ketomaa |
1 |
|
|
Lorenzo Bertelli |
1 |
TEAMS´ STANDINGS
|
Pos |
Teams |
Total |
|
Volkswagen Motorsport |
387 |
|
|
Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT |
206 |
|
|
Hyundai Motorsport |
202 |
|
|
M-Sport World Rally Team |
173 |
|
|
Volkswagen Motorsport II |
116 |
|
|
Hyundai Mobis World Rally Team |
67 |
|
|
Jipocar Czech National Team |
51 |
|
|
F.W.R.T. |
9 |
