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Story by Hyundai: 13th February 2000

HYUNDAI CASTROL WORLD RALLY TEAM CELEBRATE IN SWEDEN

On its first event with the brand new Hyundai Accent WRC, the Hyundai Castrol World Rally Team is today celebrating a notable success for itself and the Korean manufacturer. Both crews, of Kenneth Eriksson and Alister McRae, brought their cars to the finish of the 2000 Swedish International Rally in top 15 positions.

From the outset of the event, the pace of the newest World Rally Car to join the championship was evident, despite several inevitable new-car glitches. McRae set the early pace, settling into the car immediately and improving as he made alterations to its set-up, to end the event an excellent 14th overall. But it was Eriksson, on his home event, which he has won three times in the past, that proved the pedigree of the Accent WRC, by setting a string of top ten stage times. These included a joint fifth fastest time and sixth fastest on the final stage, to finish the event 13th overall.

Eriksson and McRae moved up from 17th and 19th positions at the end of the first day, when both Accents suffered teething troubles. Eriksson's car had a turbo pipe come loose on the engine on the first stage, losing turbo boost and his car lost power steering, and fifth and sixth gear, on day two. McRae picked up time penalties after the crew replaced the car's transmission.

Eriksson, and co-driver Staffan Parmander, were clearly ecstatic by the time they reached the finish ramp in Karlstad; "I'm very happy, not just with the result but also because I can feel the potential of the car. Before the start I thought I might be around 1-1.5 seconds per kilometre off the pace but it was much closer than that. Of course, I got more used to the car as the event went on. Two years away from driving a World Rally Car meant that I had to get used to it again. The car itself feels like it is helping you to drive it fast - it's balance is unique and you don't have to fight with it at all. And the Michelin tyres were fantastic here - we didn't lose any studs on the sections where the ice melted, leaving just gravel," said Eriksson.

McRae and co-driver David Senior were also extremely positive about the car's performance, as they improved their pace during the the event, setting stage times just outside the top ten. "It's been a very good rally," said McRae. "We've been experimenting with settings on the car and on the last day particularly, it felt very fast. It's encouraging to know that not only is the car pretty well on the pace straight away but there's much more to come, as we carry out more development."

Team Principal David Whitehead was also full of praise for both drivers and crew; "We're absolutely delighted with the speed of the car. The small problems obviously cost us dearly in terms of time but that is all part of the learning process when rallying with a brand new car. Getting both cars to the finish is an achievement in itself but to set some very good stage times is an excellent result for the whole team."

The next outing for the Castrol-backed Hyundai Accents is on the Tap-Rallye de Portugal, 16-19 March. Based in Oporto in northern Portugal, the event is a rough gravel rally and holds special significance for the team, since it was on the same event in 1999 that McRae and Eriksson gave Hyundai its first taste of success, coming first and second in Formula 2. And the team will be looking to build on the success of its maiden outing, on the Portuguese gravel.

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Overall victory in Sweden went to Marcus Gronholm in the Peugeot 206, the French manufacturer's first victory in 13 years. Second place went to Tommi Makinen while Colin McRae, brother of Alister, broke his run of non-finishes by claiming third. However, he fought to keep former team-mate Thomas Radstrom at bay, who claimed fourth, ahead of the first Subaru Impreza of Richard Burns.

2000 Swedish International Rally, Final Classifications
1.Marcus GronholmPeugeot 206 WRC3:20:33.3*****
2.Tommi MakinenMitsubishi Lancer Evo63:20:40.10:06.8
3.Colin McRaeFord Focus WRC3:20:47.00:13.7
4:Thomas RadstromToyota Corolla WRC3:20:48.20:14.9
5.Richard BurnsSubaru Impreza WRC3:21:08.30:35.0
13.Kenneth ErikssonHyundai Accent WRC3:29:17.28:43.9
14.Alister McRaeHyundai Accent WRC3:29:27.58:54.2