WRC – Patience pays off for Hyundai in Mexico

The first day was not a cakewalk for Hyundai Motorsport which suffered with the two i20s WRC driven by Thierry Neuville and Chris Atkinson. The lack of air at altitude and settings poorly adapted to the slippery and brittle surfaces of the Mexican specials cost both drivers a lot of time, but the numerous retirements nevertheless benefited the Korean team.

Thierry Neuville enters the second stage of the Mexican event in fifth position, just one second behind the Fiesta RS WRC of Elfyn Evans. “The first morning wasn't the easiest and I wasn't completely confident in the car. I focused on improving the settings to find something that worked for me on these high-altitude dirt stages and we made some significant changes mid-day. It was useful for the second pass because I improved my performance. I am still satisfied with this first day which was difficult without being bad. We must remember that although we have tried to replicate the altitude of Mexico in testing, there is no substitute for these conditions. »

Chris Atkinson is in eighth place after having had an even more trying day. The Australian encountered multiple issues with his i20 WRC, the first occurring right from the start on Thursday evening where he encountered a software glitch forcing him to restart the system and losing around 24 seconds. The Hyundai driver then suffered a mechanical problem in the first special of the following day, forcing him to drive in “road” mode for the links. The crew completed by Stéphane Prévot was also slowed down by a damaged rear suspension.

The second stage of Rally of Mexico will begin at 16:28 p.m. French time. Videos of the event are available on this link.