Hyundai Go All Out For GB And Championship Win

The Hyundai World Rally team will be looking for further success in next week's Rally of Great Britain in the hope of clinching the 1999 FIA 2-Litre World Cup for Manufacturers, in this, the last event for the venerable Hyundai Coupe Evo2 Kit Car.

Following the team's success in Australia, with Kenneth Eriksson winning F2 in dominant form and Alister McRae finishing fourth, the championship is definitely still alive. A strong result on the British stages could mean that Hyundai becomes the 1999 2-Litre World Champions, to add to the Asia-Pacific title it won earlier this year. Both Hyundai drivers, Eriksson and McRae, have been told to go flat out on the event, to ensure Hyundai celebrates on the evening of Tuesday 23rd, rather than Renault, the Korean manufacturer's main competition.

"We've got to go flat out for it, and that means eleven-tenths from the word go," said David Whitehead, Team Principal. "We all know the risks that entails but I feel we've got Renault rattled. They've been trying to break us all season but we keep getting crucial results. We did it in Australia and now we've got to do it in the UK again."

Alister McRae, fresh from several days R&R in the sunny climes of Australia, is looking for the foulest of weather for the event; "If it's wet and slippery, it will even things up a bit, since Renault has a power advantage over us. That could be important on the first day, where most of the stages take place on asphalt. However, after that we've got two very long days in the forests of Wales, on some of the fastest stages in Britain. If it's wet, that's fine with me. It will suit our cars perfectly."

Renault are fielding their British Championship pairing of Tapio Laukkanen and Martin Rowe, while the VW of Mark Higgins and the Vauxhalls of Neil Wearden and Jarmo Kytolehto will also be keeping competition in Formula 2 interesting.

The Rally of GB begins in Cheltenham on Sunday 21st November with the rest of that day running on stages around Silverstone and stately homes in the Midlands. Monday 22nd sees the cars head for mid-Wales and Tuesday 23rd sees the action take place in south Wales, just north of Cardiff, before returning to Cheltenham for the finish. Britain is GMT.

We are in for a treat from the Network Q Rally of Great Britain here in The Car Enthusiast. No less than three of our contributing photographers will be present at the event. We hope, therefore to have a comprehensive gallery and a decent report.

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