Party postponed again for the young Finnish driver Rovamperä who together with the co-driver Halttunen on the Toyota Yaris Rally1 did not find the desired feeling, losing precious time and even coming out of the top ten. To take advantage of the problems was the crew Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe who led the 1-2-3 on the last day of competition and Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja and Dani Sordo / Cándido Carrera respectively in second and third place, ensuring a memorable result for the Hyundai team.
Positive weekend for all Hyundai crews
After Saturday’s masterful performance, in which all three Hyundai Motorsport crews scored stage victories, the team set another three fastest times on the final morning of the race. Tänak (second in the drivers’ standings) won in the first round of Eleftherohori (SS14 / SS16, 16.90 km), before Neuville reaffirmed his advantage in the following round of Elatia-Rengini (SS15, 11.26 km). The Estonian then finished at the top of the times table in the Power Stage, scoring five extra points.
Given the problems encountered during the race, first for having opened the gravel road and then for having lost about 15 minutes for having damaged the car on a road exit, Rovamperä’s attention was focused on the Power Stage, where he tried to push hard to bring home points for the drivers’ classification and “limit the damage”. The Finnish driver managed to set the second fastest time by obtaining four bonus points. However, driving him on the Power Stage ensures that he is still leading the drivers’ championship by 53 points with three rounds to go.
Big party for Hyundai with the conquest of the podium
The consistency of Neuville and Sordo on the Power Stage allowed the team to conquer the entire podium for the first time in its 107 World Rally Championship participations. The Belgian finished in the lead by a 15-second margin, taking his first win of 2022 and seventeenth overall for the team. It is also the first time that Hyundai Motorsport has achieved three consecutive WRC victories, the last two with Tänak in Finland and Belgium. For the Estonian driver it was the sixth time on the podium of the season. This result is very important for the drivers’ classification because it allows him to close the gap with the leader Ravamperä (Toyota).
Sordo, on the other hand, opted for a measured approach to the final stages to consolidate his podium (his third result in a row this season after Portugal and Sardinia) and to achieve an all-Hyundai “top three”. The Spaniard’s perseverance has allowed him to get on the podium in his last five outings in the WRC.