Thierry Neuville has been in his calm and best form throughout the rally and extended his lead over Volkswagen Motorsport's Jari-Matti Latvala. On the final day, Neuville won the rally by a difference of 24.8 seconds over Matti. The result also marks the second victory of the new generation i20 (Elite i20 in India) WRC this season. Overall, the i20 WRC team has previously been to the podium at Rallye Deutschland in 2014 and Rally Argentina back in April this year.
Ecstatic about his victory, Thierry Neuville commented, "A truly fantastic weekend! Great things come to those who earn them, and it's definitely a nice feeling to share this victory with an amazing team. The New Generation i20 WRC has performed very well, class-leading. It's been great fun to drive and we've felt comfortable. We didn't feel too much pressure in final stages, but just focused on getting the car safely through to the end. We did everything we needed to and we can now celebrate our second WRC victory."
The victory marks Hyundai Motorsport's second in WRC this season
For Neuville, the WRC victory has turned out thanks to the concerted team effort and improved performance of the new generation i20 WRC. The win also marks Neuville's first victory in the sport since Germany 2014. In addition to Neuville, the Motorsport team driver Dani Sordo also had a effortless run as he claimed fourth position in the race for the fourth time consecutively. Kevin Abbring, meanwhile, was on top of their game to finish second in the Power Stage, securing their first WRC points.
Hyundai Motorsport has had a positive run at WRC this season having taken five podiums out of six rallies, of which there have been two victories. The team is now gearing up for the WRC rally at Poland which is scheduled from June 30 to July 3, and will be halfway point of the 2016 WRC Championship.
