Ole Christian Veiby viste imponerende tempo i Rally Monte Carlo, men endte løpet med en krasj. Les pressemelding fra Hyundai Motorsport her.
January 26, 2020 – Hyundai Motorsport’s WRC 2 crews endured the highs and lows of Rallye Monte-Carlo in the opening round of the 2020 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) and their first competitive event in the upgraded Hyundai i20 R5 ’20.
Ole Christian Veiby showed encouraging pace while fighting for the lead, with two WRC 2 stage wins over the weekend, but retired on the final morning. Nikolay Gryazin, meanwhile, finished third in the category and 16th overall, in his first-ever Monte. It was a valuable learning experience for the crews in the Pirelli-shod car, run on behalf of Hyundai Motorsport by RedGrey Team.
Veiby and Gryazin were joined by their respective co-drivers Jonas Andersson and Yaroslav Fedorov for the 16-stage event, which saw a complete range of weather and road conditions over the four-day schedule.
Thursday evening saw two night-time stages (SS1 Malijal-Puimichel, SS2 Bayons-Bréziers) in slippery conditions before the first full day of action on Friday. A repeat loop of three stages (Curbans-Venterol SS3/SS6, Saint-Clément-Freissinières SS4/SS7 and Avançon-Notre-Dame-du-Laus SS5/SS8) allowed the two crews to get their first complete taste of the Hyundai i20 R5 ’20 on the longest individual day of the event.
The combination of St-Léger-les-Mélèzes-La Bâtie-Neuve (SS9/SS11) and La Bréole-Selonnet (SS10/SS12) on Saturday saw fast changing conditions with melting ice requiring a tactical and cautious approach from the drivers and co-drivers. Sunday’s itinerary was no less demanding with the scheduled runs through La Bollène-Vésubie – Peïra Cava (SS13/SS15) and La Cabanette-Col de Braus (SS14/SS16) offering a final challenge, one which unfortunately caught out Veiby.
Earlier in the event, he had been quickly on the pace against experienced rivals, claiming a WRC 2 stage win in SS3 to move into the category lead with Gryazin right behind. Unfortunately, the Norwegian felt Monte’s bite in SS6 as a puncture lost him two minutes of time. He was still able to retain second, just ten seconds behind the leader, Mads Østberg, with the crew’s Russian team-mates in third.
Hopes of victory were dented on Saturday as Veiby spun on the final stage of the day (SS12). Gryazin, too, lost time through a mechanical issue in SS10, but the two crews retained their second and third places. As action moved back towards Monte-Carlo on the final morning, Veiby saw his chances of a victory fight fade away, and ultimately crashed out in SS14, forcing cancellation of the stage. Gryazin completed the rally inside the WRC 2 top-three, scoring points for Hyundai Motorsport N.
Crew Notes: Nikolay Gryazin/Yaroslav Fedorov (#21 Hyundai i20 R5 ‘20)
• Third place in WRC 2 for the Russians in their first Monte-Carlo
• Solid foundation from which the crew can build in subsequent events
Gryazin said: “I am pleased to finish our first rally with Hyundai Motorsport, especially considering this was our first time in Monte-Carlo with the Hyundai i20 R5. It was not an easy event with lots of muddy conditions, as well as ice, snow and slush. While it was tricky, we had a valuable experience getting to know the car. We didn’t push too much, as our objective was to finish the rally and to take some points away, which we achieved. I was sorry to see Ole Christian stop in SS14 today; he did a good job all weekend. I would like to extend my thanks to RedGrey Team, to Hyundai Motorsport and to the gravel crew for their help and guidance. We also appreciate the support from the Russian fans, many of whom follow on WRC Plus. We will try to improve at the next event.”
Crew Notes: Ole Christian Veiby/Jonas Andersson (#22 Hyundai i20 R5 ‘20)
• Two stage wins in WRC 2 over the weekend (SS3 and SS8)
• Encouraging pace from the Norwegian-Swedish crew
Veiby said: “That was not the ending we wanted for Rallye Monte-Carlo. It started well today, but on SS14 I had a little too much speed going into a corner, where it was damp, went wide, hit some rocks and knocked off the right rear wheel. It was stupid really, and my mistake. The rest of the weekend has been good, though! We have been right there on the pace on every stage, and we felt really comfortable in the car. Such a shame with the puncture, as we were in a tight battle for victory in the WRC2. We have settled in well with the new team, and even our tyre choices went well with the new tyre supplier. Both Jonas and I feel we have been competitive all weekend, and that is promising ahead of the next round. Big thanks to RedGrey Team and Hyundai Motorsport for their support and effort! And, also, to our route note Crew, PG Andersson and Stig Rune Skjærmoen; both did an excellent job.”
Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Andrea Adamo: “I think we have shown that our Hyundai i20 R5 has definitely improved its performance level. The job carried out by the Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing engineers on the upgraded ’20 specification car has been very well done. Honestly speaking, the drivers’ performance this weekend has not really been up to our expectations, but we are looking forward to seeing a big improvement on that front in the next round.”
Next rally
The second round of the 2020 FIA World Rally Championship, Rally Sweden, will take place February 13-16.
Final Overall Classification WRC 2 – Rallye Monte-Carlo
1 M. Østberg T. Eriksen Citroën C3 R5 3:15:10.4
2 A. Fourmaux R. Jamoul Ford Fiesta R5 MkII +3:36.5
3 N. Gryazin Y. Fedorov Hyundai i20 R5 +5:13.7
4 R. Yates J. Morgan Ford Fiesta R5 MkII +12:54.7