Hyundai Motorsport celebrates double podium

HYUNDAI Motorsport has claimed its second double podium of the 2017 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo completing the Rally de Portugal in second and third positions respectively.

The result fulfils Hyundai Motorsport’s pre-rally objectives in style, securing the team its first-ever Portuguese podium finish. It is the sixth time in the team’s history that it has had two crews on the podium and continues its run of 2017 top-three finishes after third in Mexico, a 1-3 in Corsica and victory at the previous round in Argentina.

“After two wins I am pleased to finish second as well as taking another good haul of Power Stage points,” said Thierry Neuville. “That has been very important for my position in the Drivers’ Championship, moving now into second place behind Ogier. Also, from a team point of view, with Dani in third, we have added more points to the team’s standings, so it’s been a valuable and successful weekend.”

Hyundai strengthens its grip on second place in the Manufacturers’ Championship, with 173 points placing it 60 points ahead of Toyota Gazoo Racing on 113, after finishing in Argentina 41 points ahead. The gap between second and first increased slightly from 22 points to 26, with the M-Sport World Rally Team now on 199 points as the season moves towards the half-way point.