Thierry Neuville Hyundai champion at Rally di Alba

Quel est le meilleur pilote Hyundai ? C’était la question majeure du Rally di Alba, disputé ce week-end dans le Piémont en Italie. Le rendez-vous, très apprécié du constructeur coréen, sert de préparation en vue de la reprise du championnat WRC planned for Estonia in September. Hyundai fielded no less than twenty cars in total in the #RAplus category and in the main category.

The first was largely dominated by the duo Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul behind the wheel of the Hyundai i20. The Belgians won eight of the nine stages and outperformed their world champion teammates Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja, more than twenty-two seconds behind in the end. On the last step of the podium ranks the French Pierre-Louis Loubet at 55’’.

The #RAplus participated outside the general classification of the rally. This was won by Craig Breen on the official Hyundai i20 R5. The Irishman took control from the first stage, then resisted the comeback of his Finnish teammate Jari Huttunen, who finished eight seconds behind.

Dani Sordo completes the podium at twenty-two seconds. The Spaniard led the rally in a duel with Luca Rossetti. The Italian got back to less than three seconds three-quarters of the way through the race before Sordo made it happen on the final stage.

Note the Frenchman’s fine fifth place Anthony Fotia accompanied by Michel Didier. The duo set the best time for a non-Hyundai at the wheel of their Voklswagen Polo R5, thirty-two seconds behind Breen.