Take a look at some key events for our customers this weekend

Turk and Kacin face tough international test at biggest event of Slovenian season

Hyundai Slovenia pairing Rok Turk and Blanka Kacin face the toughest test of their dominant Slovenian Rally Championship so far at Rally Nova Gorica. The event is the biggest event on the national calendar. Alongside the domestic contest the event also hosts a round of the European Rally Trophy, with a number of high-profile international crews joining the entry list. While they will not compete with Turk and Kacin in the national championship, where they have won all four events this year, they will provide a strong challenge in the overall standings and the fight for ERT honours, which Turk and Kacin claimed at the Delta Rally in Croatia earlier this year. i20 R5 crew Marko Grossi and Tara Berlot, meanwhile, are solely focussed on the national championship. The pair, champions in 2023, claimed their first podium of the campaign at the previous round, so will be aiming to continue the same form on the centre-piece weekend of the Slovenian season.

i20 N Rally2 crew returns to French tarmac action after championship setback

The Loire Valley hosts the next round of the French Tarmac Rally Championship, Rallye Coeur de France, with a pair of i20 N Rally2 customers on the entry list. A poor result at the previous round dropped 2C Competition driver Eric Camilli from the lead of the championship to third, 15 points behind the leaders. However, a fresh weekend offers he and co-driver Thibault de la Haye a chance to go for a third overall win of the season and recoup at least some of the ground lost in the standings. A second i20 N Rally2 on the stages, run by the CHL Sport Auto team, is crewed by Gravel Championship front-runners Laurent Pellier and Kévin Bronner. Pellier showed strong pace in his first sealed surface start of 2024 at the previous round, completing the Rally2 class podium. Now reunited with Bronner, with whom he has four podiums on gravel events, he will aim to repeat – or even improve on – the performance.

WRC star Mikkelsen aboard i20 N Rally2 for Italian regional event

Andreas Mikkelsen takes an i20 N Rally2 to Ralli Valli della Carnia in Italy as part of the on-going development of the machine. The two-day event in the north-east of Italy is the culmination of a week of testing in the area for Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing engineers with the i20 N Rally2 as they seek to improve the car’s performance and handling on the widest possible range of tarmac stages. WRC driver Mikkelsen and co-driver Torstein Eriksen will no doubt be the star attraction for fans as they aim to show the i20 N Rally2 to its full potential. The Norwegian pairing will be only one of four i20 N Rally2 crews on the stages. Two are entered by local Italian customer team Friulmotor, the final Hyundai Motorsport-built car on the entry list brings Finnish driver Benjamin Korhola back to Italy for a third event this season as he increases his experience on tarmac. He will share the car with co-driver Samu Vaaleri.

Belgian pair head to ‘home’ event to keep up national title push

At the first of two ‘home’ rallies to end the Belgian Rally Championship BMA-run driver Cédric Cherain will look for victory on the East Belgian Rally to continue his push for the national title. A stunning performance for the Cherain and co-driver Damien Withers in Flanders at the previous event brought them their second win of the season and reignited their championship challenge, lifting them to second in the standings. The crew now have two events in Wallonia – this weekend’s event and the Spa Rally that completes the season – to continue their form a take a first overall national title. Though the crew will have local knowledge on their side for both events, tantalisingly giving them a small advantage at a crucial point of the season, they can expect strong opposition from their experienced rivals as the championship battle heads to a dramatic climax.

Vallentin rejoins Danish Rally Championship for season finale

Simon Vallentin and his i20 N Rally2 return to the Danish Rally Championship for the season finale at Rally Stoholm on one condition – that his partner isn’t giving birth to their second child! Heavily pregnant, Vallentin’s girlfriend had asked him not to enter a rally last week in the Netherlands so he was close by, but that means he can run in this weekend’s national championship finale – unless he gets a call. Of course, while he is out of the running for the Danish title, Vallentin and co-driver Line Lykke Jensen can still act as spoiler for those running for the championship by taking points away from the contenders, and Vallentin has plenty of reasons to push for a strong result. After strong finishes in events around Europe, including podium finishes in Norway and Germany, a good finish can confirm the Dane as Nordic rally champion.