The deputy team principal of Hyundai Motorsport, Julien Moncet, says that the podium finish at Rally Sweden feels like a win for the team after the disastrous Rallye Monte Carlo.
Thierry Neuville finished in second position overall and was the third fastest driver in Powerstage which means that he scored 23 points for the manufacturer's championship despite the fact that he faced a problem with the battery pack in Stage 2.
Ott Tanak was fighting for the win with Kalle Rovanpera on Friday morning, but he was forced to retire before the start of Stage 6 as he reported at the end of Stage 5 that he lost the hybrid power.
But the Estonian driver won four stages in Sweden including the Powerstage where he scored the five bonus points for the driver's and the manufacturer's championship.
Moreover, Oliver Solberg finished sixth overall despite the throttle issue he had in Stage 12 and the time penalty he received as he started late in SS13, but he managed to solve it in Stage 13 as he worked on his car on the road section before the start of SS13.
In comparison with Rallye Monte Carlo, two Hyundai drivers finished in the top ten in Sweden whereas only Thierry Neuville got to the finish line of the first round of this year's World Rally Championship.
"Of course we are very happy, it is not a win, but considering the situation in Monte Carlo and the difficult start of the season it feels like a win honestly", Moncte said.
"It is good to see all the smiles on the faces.
"Let’s enjoy the moment but still next week we will push again as the target is to win.
"This is very positive and we won some stages.
"Ott despite a bad position for the power stage did an incredible result.
"Oliver did very well as well but unfortunately he had a technical issue yesterday.
"The pace of the car is there.
"It has to be boosted as the Toyota is quite fast.
"It is a big improvement from Monte Carlo and it seems as though our car is working better in these conditions".
Source: Motorsport.com
Photo Credits: Hyundai
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