Sébastien and Daniel take third place
We have brought WRC’s tour of South America to a positive conclusion with our sixth individual podium result of the season so far.
An impressive performance in the brand new Rally Chile event saw nine-time WRC champions Sébastien and Daniel take their first top-three as a Hyundai Motorsport crew.
Sunday’s itinerary covered the 14.41km Bio Bio, 18.06km Lircay and 15.28km San Nicolas stages. Bio Bio was repeated after regroup and technical zone as the Power Stage.
Red hot in Chile
Fighting their way back up the classification from eighth on Friday’s opening stage, the final morning saw our #19 crew involved in a tantalising battle with the ‘other’ Sébastien (Ogier).
“Chile has been a difficult but enjoyable and productive rally,” said Sébastien. “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so comfortable inside a car. We’ve scored some important points for the championship.”
Our Team Director Andrea added: “Sébastien and Daniel have done a great job this weekend. All weekend, they have been keeping us feeling young, back to the sort of performance level that reminds us of their best years. They have done an amazing rally and really helped to keep our championship aspirations alive.”
Fortune faded
Andreas and Anders finished the rally in seventh place, but it was a contrasting weekend for our Norwegians.
“This rally has been a real disappointment after the high that we had in Argentina,” said Andreas. “I am sure we can pinpoint the error back to the recce. We took very aggressive pace notes, and following a few small moments, I was never truly able to trust the notes as much as we needed to.”
Thierry and Nicolas could not participate in the rally on Sunday following a crash during Saturday’s SS8 (Maria Las Cruces). They will return at Rally de Portugal.
Rally Chile sees a change at the top of the drivers’ classification with Thierry dropping down to third. In the manufacturers’, we continue to lead the way with a strong advantage of 29 points.
The WRC’s gravel challenges continue at round 7, Rally de Portugal, taking place from May 30-June 2.
Final Overall Classification – Rally Chile
1 O. Tänak / M. Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) 3:15:53.8
2 S. Ogier / J. Ingrassia (Citroën C3 WRC) +23.1
3 S. Loeb / D. Elena (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +30.2
4 E. Evans / S. Martin (Ford Fiesta WRC) +1:36.7
5 T. Suninen / M. Salminen (Ford Fiesta WRC) +3:15.6
6 E. Lappi / J. Ferm (Citroën C3 WRC) +3:45.4
7 A. Mikkelsen / A. Jæger-Amland (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +4:39.0
8 K. Meeke / S. Marshall (Toyota Yaris WRC) +7:33.4
9 K. Rovanperä / J. Halttunen (Škoda Fabia R5) +7:52.5
19 M. Østberg / T. Eriksen (Citroën C3 R5) +8:16.1
2019 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 6
1 S. Ogier 122
2 O. Tanak 112
3 T. Neuville 110
4 K. Meeke 59
5 E. Evans 55
6 S.Loeb 39
7 A. Mikkelsen 36
8 E. Lappi 34
9 J.M Latvala 32
10 T. Suninen 30
11 D. Sordo 26
2019 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 6
1 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 178
2 Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 149
3 Citroën Total World Rally Team 143
4 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 100
All results remain subject to official FIA confirmation.
