Hyundai blows hot and cold in Mexico

Dani Sordo set a good pace in the first stage of the Rally from Mexico. The Spaniard who only has a partial program, being forced to share the wheel of the third i20 WRC with Hayden Paddon, took advantage of his good position on the road to score two scratches and take control of the event with a lead of seven seconds over Sébastien Loeb (Citroen).

“I am satisfied with our performances, especially in the first passage of the stage where we were able to set very good times taking advantage of our position, recognizes the Spaniard. It's a good feeling to be in the lead at the end of the day, but we know that the fight is close. I have to thank the team for providing me with a perfect car. The scratch scores achieved in the morning were satisfactory, but we knew we were going to be in more difficulty in the afternoon. We were aware that the soft tires risked being a little at the limit, but we wanted to take the gamble. It didn't really work because we lacked lateral grip. We had been fast in the past in Mexico and we hoped to be in the game. We will do what it takes to stay in the fight for the podium. »

His teammates Andreas Mikkelsen and Thierry Neuville were, however, more in difficulty. The Norwegian is thus in sixth place, more than half a minute from the head of the race, chasing the lead. Sébastien Ogier (M-Sport) qui ne dispose que d’une seconde d’avance sur le Scandinave.

“I tried to attack as much as possible despite the circumstances, explains the former Volkswagen driver. I am quite satisfied overall, even if we know that there is room to do better. In the morning we were mainly looking to gain grip and control the car in these dusty mountain stages. We chose the harder tires for the second pass but the car was very slippery at times. It was difficult to know how to attack because we easily lost the trajectory. I made a few mistakes but overall the day was positive. We are in the fight for the Top 5, which makes us want to do better. »

Le plus en difficulté dans l’équipe Hyundai a été Thierry Neuville. Leader du Championnat, le Belge a dû ouvrir la route. Le vice-champion du monde a également été ralenti par des soucis mécaniques. Il pointe au septième rang à deux minutes de la tête de la course.

“It wasn’t a very good day for us, he confides. We were pretty motivated even though we knew it would be difficult starting first on the road. We did our best not to waste too much time on the first pass. We were in seventh place before the start of the short SS5 special, but unfortunately we suffered from excessive fuel consumption which caused a loss of fuel pressure. We dropped about 20 seconds and two positions. It was very disappointing. It didn't really improve in the afternoon and we were in difficulty again on SS8 (Ortega) with steering problems which caused us to lose another 40 seconds. »

Thierry Neuville risks experiencing a complicated rally since he will still be among the first crews to open the road in the second stage. Conversely, Dani Sordo will be best placed.