Rally New Zealand – Day One
Hyundai Motorsport finished the first full day of FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) action at Rally New Zealand with a slender 0.2-second lead, heading a top-four separated by just 7.2 seconds after seven stages.
Photo:Hyundaimotorsport
Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja topped the timesheets on a day when slippery conditions put crews through a rigorous test on exhilarating gravel roads The Estonians scored two stage wins on Friday’s six-stage itinerary, adding to their fastest time on Thursday evening’s super special, after a spectacular ceremonial start in the city of Auckland.
More than half of the rally’s total distance was covered on Friday, as crews negotiated a whopping 158.56km of tricky – and often wet and muddy – tests. The event’s two longest stages, the stunning Whaanga Coast (29.27km SS2/SS5) and Te Akau South (31.48km, SS3/SS6) got the action underway, with Te Akau North (18.53km, SS4/SS7) completing the loop. With only a tyre fitting zone, and no opportunity for midday service, the afternoon’s repeat pass required a cautious approach in difficult conditions.
Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe lost time in the morning loop with two separate spins costing them over 20 seconds. The Belgians were less than satisfied with their sixth place on the overall classification, as they seek more confidence in their Hyundai i20 N Rally1 on the demanding New Zealand stages.
In their first gravel rally since Finland, Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson secured a trio of top-six stage times in the afternoon loop to hold seventh position overall. It was an important day of learning for Hyundai Motorsport in its first-ever WRC rally in New Zealand, as the team aims to build on its recent hat trick of victories.
Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1) Three stage wins, including both passes of the Te Akau North test
Estonian crew holds a tight 0.2-second lead in a closely fought event
Tänak said: “It’s been a very long day with an early morning and a late evening finish. In a way, it’s been quite a consistent day; the conditions were not so bad for us, although some stages were worse than others. This afternoon, we had some heavy rain but aside from that it’s been OK. The roads here are really fun to drive, but it is just difficult to get into the right rhythm. You need confidence in the car to get into a good flow, and we definitely need to look for more to improve in this area. It seems that the weather is coming in quite strong tomorrow, so these tenths-of-a-second lead don’t really mean anything – we’ll have to see what happens.”
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1) Belgians lost valuable time with spins on the morning loop
Struggling for confidence, the crew finished Friday in sixth place
Neuville said: “The day kicked off with a bit of a struggle in the first three stages, which were tough. We set some good split times but were fighting with the rear of the car and got spun around a couple of times. We were able to react at the midday tyre fitting zone; we worked on the diffs to find a better feeling. We just went too stiff on the settings immediately this morning and were then too careful during the day to make bigger changes to get more grip. With the weather conditions, somehow, I see a chance for us to get more into the fight tomorrow. Anything can happen and we’ve not got much to lose so we going to try and gain some positions.”
Crew Notes: Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (#2 Hyundai i20 N Rally1) Solberg found improvements during Friday’s extensive schedule
Fourth fastest in the repeat of Whaanga Coast saw the crew move up to seventh
Solberg said: “It has been fantastic to drive these roads and it is great experience. It has been a tough and tricky day out there, but we have been improving with the car and building our speed. We worked hard in the morning but struggled to get the proper feeling, along with some power and transmission issues. We had only a short regroup and tyre fitting zone to refresh and refocus ourselves for the afternoon. We were very unlucky with the weather, it seemed to start raining every time I was on the stage, but with our road order for tomorrow I’ll be hoping for more of that! We’re just taking it steady and building step by step.”
Deputy Team Director Julien Moncet said: “After an opening stage in Auckland yesterday, and a first stage win for Ott, today we were back to more traditional New Zealand stages for the longest day of the season. It was all about road position, cleaning, tricky weather conditions and tyre wear. Overall, a generally trouble-free day for our three crews. After a steady morning for Ott and Martin, in which they scored another stage win, they were able to regain first position overall with their third stage win, despite cleaning and mud in the afternoon. Things were more complicated for Thierry and Martijn, who struggled with the car balance and spun twice, losing precious seconds. They had a better rhythm for the second loop following some set-up changes, but we need to work further on the car tonight to give them more confidence for tomorrow. Oliver and Elliott struggled as well to find the balance in tricky conditions but showed promising pace in the afternoon, just being very unlucky with the rain and with some minor issues throughout the day. Their target is to keep the speed as much as possible for the rest of the rally. Tomorrow the weather forecast looks quite challenging, so everything can still happen.”
Saturday at a glanceSix stages will be run on Saturday over a competitive distance of just 88.28km
Kaipara Hills (15.83km, SS8/SS11), Puhoi (SS9/SS12, 22.50km) and Komokoriki (5.81km, SS10/SS13) make up the itinerary with a lunchtime service offering a chance for crews to regroup.
Classification after Day One
1 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 1:36:48.6
2 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +0.2
3 S. Ogier B. Veillas Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +6.7
4 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +7.2
5 G. Greensmith J. Andersson Ford Puma Rally1 +43.8
6 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +45.6
7 O. Solberg E. Edmondson Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +1:28.3
8 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +1:42.0
Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja topped the timesheets on a day when slippery conditions put crews through a rigorous test on exhilarating gravel roads The Estonians scored two stage wins on Friday’s six-stage itinerary, adding to their fastest time on Thursday evening’s super special, after a spectacular ceremonial start in the city of Auckland.
More than half of the rally’s total distance was covered on Friday, as crews negotiated a whopping 158.56km of tricky – and often wet and muddy – tests. The event’s two longest stages, the stunning Whaanga Coast (29.27km SS2/SS5) and Te Akau South (31.48km, SS3/SS6) got the action underway, with Te Akau North (18.53km, SS4/SS7) completing the loop. With only a tyre fitting zone, and no opportunity for midday service, the afternoon’s repeat pass required a cautious approach in difficult conditions.
Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe lost time in the morning loop with two separate spins costing them over 20 seconds. The Belgians were less than satisfied with their sixth place on the overall classification, as they seek more confidence in their Hyundai i20 N Rally1 on the demanding New Zealand stages.
In their first gravel rally since Finland, Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson secured a trio of top-six stage times in the afternoon loop to hold seventh position overall. It was an important day of learning for Hyundai Motorsport in its first-ever WRC rally in New Zealand, as the team aims to build on its recent hat trick of victories.
Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1) Three stage wins, including both passes of the Te Akau North test
Estonian crew holds a tight 0.2-second lead in a closely fought event
Tänak said: “It’s been a very long day with an early morning and a late evening finish. In a way, it’s been quite a consistent day; the conditions were not so bad for us, although some stages were worse than others. This afternoon, we had some heavy rain but aside from that it’s been OK. The roads here are really fun to drive, but it is just difficult to get into the right rhythm. You need confidence in the car to get into a good flow, and we definitely need to look for more to improve in this area. It seems that the weather is coming in quite strong tomorrow, so these tenths-of-a-second lead don’t really mean anything – we’ll have to see what happens.”
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1) Belgians lost valuable time with spins on the morning loop
Struggling for confidence, the crew finished Friday in sixth place
Neuville said: “The day kicked off with a bit of a struggle in the first three stages, which were tough. We set some good split times but were fighting with the rear of the car and got spun around a couple of times. We were able to react at the midday tyre fitting zone; we worked on the diffs to find a better feeling. We just went too stiff on the settings immediately this morning and were then too careful during the day to make bigger changes to get more grip. With the weather conditions, somehow, I see a chance for us to get more into the fight tomorrow. Anything can happen and we’ve not got much to lose so we going to try and gain some positions.”
Crew Notes: Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (#2 Hyundai i20 N Rally1) Solberg found improvements during Friday’s extensive schedule
Fourth fastest in the repeat of Whaanga Coast saw the crew move up to seventh
Solberg said: “It has been fantastic to drive these roads and it is great experience. It has been a tough and tricky day out there, but we have been improving with the car and building our speed. We worked hard in the morning but struggled to get the proper feeling, along with some power and transmission issues. We had only a short regroup and tyre fitting zone to refresh and refocus ourselves for the afternoon. We were very unlucky with the weather, it seemed to start raining every time I was on the stage, but with our road order for tomorrow I’ll be hoping for more of that! We’re just taking it steady and building step by step.”
Deputy Team Director Julien Moncet said: “After an opening stage in Auckland yesterday, and a first stage win for Ott, today we were back to more traditional New Zealand stages for the longest day of the season. It was all about road position, cleaning, tricky weather conditions and tyre wear. Overall, a generally trouble-free day for our three crews. After a steady morning for Ott and Martin, in which they scored another stage win, they were able to regain first position overall with their third stage win, despite cleaning and mud in the afternoon. Things were more complicated for Thierry and Martijn, who struggled with the car balance and spun twice, losing precious seconds. They had a better rhythm for the second loop following some set-up changes, but we need to work further on the car tonight to give them more confidence for tomorrow. Oliver and Elliott struggled as well to find the balance in tricky conditions but showed promising pace in the afternoon, just being very unlucky with the rain and with some minor issues throughout the day. Their target is to keep the speed as much as possible for the rest of the rally. Tomorrow the weather forecast looks quite challenging, so everything can still happen.”
Saturday at a glanceSix stages will be run on Saturday over a competitive distance of just 88.28km
Kaipara Hills (15.83km, SS8/SS11), Puhoi (SS9/SS12, 22.50km) and Komokoriki (5.81km, SS10/SS13) make up the itinerary with a lunchtime service offering a chance for crews to regroup.
Classification after Day One
1 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 1:36:48.6
2 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +0.2
3 S. Ogier B. Veillas Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +6.7
4 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +7.2
5 G. Greensmith J. Andersson Ford Puma Rally1 +43.8
6 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +45.6
7 O. Solberg E. Edmondson Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +1:28.3
8 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +1:42.0
