Hyundai Shell World Rally team finished Rally De Espa�a with all three cars in the top ten
Hyundai finished the Shell World Rally with all three of its cars in the top ten.
The drivers set some notable stage times at the Rally De Espa�a, as well as gaining valuable experience to develop the Hyundai i20 WRC as they tackled the challenging Costa Daurada roads.
It was the first time at a Shell World Rally for Hyundai and drivers Hayden Paddon and Thierry Neuville impressively managed two stage wins on the Friday. Paddon finished ninth overall.
Paddon said: "It has been a positive rally for us overall. I secured my maiden stage win and we have gained a lot of information and experience. We have struggled with set-up on the tighter sections but we have all learned a lot to help improve our tarmac performance moving forward. It is good to finish in the top ten with no major issues on our only sealed-surface event of the year and I'm looking forward to getting back on the gravel at Wales Rally GB."
The drivers were able to establish the pace of the car over the unique twisty, tarmac route and have focused on improving the balance of the i20 on the abrasive roads.
The final day of the event concluded with 72.06 km of asphalt special stages: two runs through both the La Mussara stage at 20.48 km and the Ruidecanyes at 15.55km.
Team principal Michel Nandan commented: "We have learned a lot this weekend about our performance potential in these conditions. The drivers were pushing today but were suffering from understeer on all three cars. We know we have some work to do to improve the balance in the twisty sections but we have gathered a lot of data to help us."