Maťo Homola gave the i30 N TCR its first TCR Europe win of the season, as well as a first victory in the championship for the Czech Janík Motorsport squad
On his debut with the Team MRF Tyres i20 R5 Dani Sordo finished second on the Azores Rallye to equal the best-ever result for the car in ERC competition
Customer Racing Junior Driver Grégoire Munster took a first overall win in the Belgian Rally Championship in his i20 R5 and set a new record for the series’ youngest-ever victor.
Alzenau, Germany
September 27, 2021 – Hyundai Motorsport customers with the i30 N TCR and i20 R5 have shone in recent weekends, with fantastic victories in TCR competition at both the national and continental level. On the rally stages, while the number of brand new i20 N Rally2 in customer hands increases, teams and drivers with the i20 R5 continue to prove the performance of the car, with podiums at a wide range of events including in the latest round of the European Rally Championship.
i30 N TCR driver returns to winning ways in TCR Europe
Maťo Homola returned himself, and the i30 N TCR, to the top step of the TCR Europe podium in Race 2 at Monza (September 24-26). Having started from the front row he was part of the lead battle for the entire race as the group swapped the key positions throughout. His victory gave the Czech Janík Motorsport team a first win in the series in their debut campaign. In sixth Felice Jelmini completed his home weekend of the season in the best placed of the Sebastien Loeb Racing Elantra N TCR.
Sami Taoufik led home the Hyundai customers in Race 1 after a hugely impressive drive from 15th to 5th in his Elantra N TCR to finish one place ahead of Homola, who was also able to move forward on the high speed circuit after starting ninth.
Mato Homola – TCR Europe – Monza
Race 2 win keeps Hyundai Deutschland-backed driver ahead in TCR Germany
Luca Engstler protected his lead at the top of the TCR Germany points’ standings after the series’ first meeting of the year at Hockenheim (September 18-19). Completing back-to-back racing weekends in the championship Engstler took a lights-to-flag victory in Race 2 at the track to add to the second place he had claimed the previous day in Race 1 aboard his i30 N TCR.
On Sunday’s podium he was joined by Hyundai Team Engstler teammate Nico Gruber, who finished third to seal another weekend sweep in the Junior Category. A successful outing for the four-car, Hyundai Deutschland-supported team was completed by Roland Hertner, who won the Trophy class in both encounters and Martin Andersen, who moved up to third in the standings after a fourth and fifth place finish – the latter coming despite sustaining damage on the final lap.
Lithuanian driver Jonas Karklys enjoyed another strong weekend – coming away with a best result of fourth in Race 2, while Robin Jahr posted a pair of top-tens in his own i30 N TCR.
Luca Engstler – TCR Germany – Hockenheim
Nico Gruber – TCR Germany – Hockenheim
Sordo marks Team MRF Tyres debut with strong second in the Azores
On his debut with the Team MRF Tyres i20 R5 Dani Sordo finished a strong second on the European Rally Championship’s Azores Rallye (September 16-18). The Spaniard won three stages over the two-day event and led overnight after an opening loop on which slippery roads and thick fog had added to already sizable challenge presented by the gravel roads on the itinerary.
Though he would slip back to second during day two of the competition he finished just 14.8 seconds behind the winner and equaled the best result for the car in ERC competition.
In sixth Hyundai Rally Team Italia’s Umberto Scandola picked up his best result of the European season in his i20 R5 after consistent run, where he only once set a stage time outside of the top ten.
Dani Sordo – Azores Rallye
Dani Sordo – Azores Rallye
Junior Driver sets new record with first Belgian national victory
Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Junior Driver Grégoire Munster claimed a first career overall win in the Belgian Rally Championship at the East Belgian Rally (September 24-25) in superb, record-setting style. An authoritative performance for the BMA i20 R5 driver began with fastest times on each of the first four stages of the event, giving him a slender, but all-important lead.
Through the second and third passes of the stages he and co-driver Louis Louka remained ahead. Three more top times were enough to keep him ahead of his rivals. Second on the final test was enough to give him a first career victory in the championship and – at 22-years, 9-months and 1-day – eclipse a 40-year old record for the youngest ever winner in the series.
Gregoire Munster – East Belgian Rally
Gregoire Munster – East Belgian Rally
Class win in Italian WRC pulls Rossetti closer to points’ leader
Luca Rossetti closed in on the lead of the Italian WRC standings at the penultimate round of the season at Rally San Martino di Castrozza (September 18-19). In an entry prepared by BRC Racing Team, with co-driver Manuel Fenoli, he finished second overall, winning the R5 class.
Of the six stages that made up the tarmac event the duo was fastest overall on two – beating both their class rivals and the eventual overall victor in a WRC car – and the best R5 on a further three tests. Ultimately, they would finish less than 12 seconds behind the winner, but nearly 40 second ahead of their nearest RC2-class competitor.
Luca Rossetti – Rally San Martino di Castrozza
Luca Rossetti – Rally San Martino di Castrozza
Third Hyundai victory of the season concludes Norwegian national season
Ole Christian Veiby secured his third consecutive win in the Norwegian national championship at the season-ending Rally Hedemarken (September 18). He won his first stage of the event to close the first day of the rally and then added three more in succession when the action restarted the following morning, moving into the overall lead in the process.
He would hold that position through to the end of the weekend – aided by two more stage victories – to take the win. The points meant that, despite missing two events of the championship, he only missed out on the national title by eight points.
Ole Christian Veiby – Rally Hedemarken
Ole Christian Veiby – Rally Hedemarken
i20 R5 crews end shortened Spanish event 1-2
Hyundai España-supported i20 R5 drivers finished first and second on a shortened Rallye Villa de Llanes (September 24-25). Iván Ares was given the overall victory after seven of the ten planned stages. He and co-driver David Vásquez were more than a minute clear of the pairing of Surhayen Pernía and Alba Sánchez, in their own i20 R5.
Ares accounted for four fastest stage times on the event on his way to his second consecutive win in the Spanish Superchampionship season.
Second place for i20 R5 crew in the Netherlands after close battle
After taking victory on half of the ten stages of the Hellendoorn Rally (September 18) i20 R5 driver Bob de Jong finished just 2.3 seconds shy of victory after a close battle for the lead which saw the position change hands multiple times.
De Jong and co-driver Bjorn Degandt went into the final stage with the lead, but would lose out in the final results, while remaining nearly 40 seconds clear of the crew who completed the podium spots.
Bob de Jong – Hellendoorn Rally
Bon de Jong – Hellendoorn Rally
Double class podium from Estonian national event
RedGrey Team-run i20 R5 drivers Ken Torn and Radik Shaymiev finished first and third in their class at the Viru Rally (September 18) in Estonia. Making his first competitive start in the i20 R5 Torn finished the better of the pair in second overall. He actually started the event with the best time overall on the opener, but dropped behind a crew from a higher category as the weekend continued. He would top the overall results again on the penultimate stage and set the best time in the RC2 class on a further four occasions.
Russian driver Shaymiev finished sixth overall to complete the class podium in the final standings.
i20 R5 Podium completes season and sets up European Rally Trophy entry
Turkish driver Mustafa Cakal finished third on the Serbia Rally (September 24-26) to complete his Balkan Rally Trophy campaign with the GP Garage My Team-run i20 R5. Cakal was able to claim the final step on the podium after a consistent performance, despite losing time on the opening stage. The result secured him second place in the regional competition. He and the team now turn their focus to the European Rally Trophy event at November’s Lausitz Rallye.
Mustafa Cakal – Serbia Rally
Mustafa Cakal – Serbia Rally
Fourth place in Cyprus as part of international event
Panayiotis Yiangou finished fourth overall on the Cyprus Rally (September 24-26) where the national championship runners met the international field of the Middle East Rally Championship. In the i20 R5 run by his family team he also finished fourth in both legs of the event – which counted as separate rounds for the national championship.
Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Manager Andrew Johns said: “Supporting our customers, regardless of where they compete, or with which of our cars they run, has always been crucial to the work of the customer racing department. That – even as we deliver new models for both our TCR and rallying customers – teams continue to show the performance of the full range of designs built in Alzenau in a testament to both the strength of the cars themselves, as well as the work of our staff to support them wherever they may be. In TCR Germany and TCR Europe the i30 N TCR has shown that it remains one of the cars to beat in the category with wins in both series. Meanwhile, crews with the i20 R5 have shown that – five years after the car’s debut – it is still very much at home at the top of stage times and overall standings. In a wide range of national championships we’ve been able to congratulate our customers on some fantastic results, none more so that the first Belgian championship win for our Junior Driver Grégoire Munster.”