Customers dominate national series

A 1-2 finish at Rally Idrija completed a clean sweep of victories for our customers in this year’s Slovenian Rally Championship. Following the event, Marko Grossi and Tara Berlot secured their first national title, with multiple champion Rok Turk and co-driver Blanka Kacin second in the final standings.

“Our customers have enjoyed another incredibly successful season in Slovenia – winning every round of the national championship,” commented Andrea, our Customer Racing Manager.

Securing the silverware
The season finale was won by the Hyundai Slovenia-backed i20 N Rally2 crew of Rok and Blanka, marking their fifth victory of 2023. The duo led a 1-2 result ahead of i20 R5 crew Marko and Tara, who won the other two events on the seven-date calendar.

It was this pair of rounds – combined with impressive consistency across the entire year – that proved pivotal to Marko’s championship success. At the season opening Rally Vipavska dolina and September’s Rally Nova Gorica, Rok failed to finish due to costly technical issues on his car. On these occasions, Marko took full advantage of his rival’s misfortune, standing on the top step at the conclusion of both events.

These two vital wins, plus five second-place finishes, saw Marko and Tara claim the Slovenian Rally Championship crown by a margin of 45 points over Rok and Blanka.

“This season has been a dream come true for me,” exclaimed Marko. “We achieved the biggest result of my career and I hope that this national championship title will be the first of many! My Hyundai i20 R5 has been flawless this season.”

“After Rok has won the title for the last six years with the i20 R5 and then i20 N Rally2 I am happy to be able to celebrate a first national championship for Marko and Tara,” added Andrea. “Their performance proves that even in 2023, seven years after the car debuted, the i20 R5 is still a very competitive package for crews competing for national glory.”