Hyundai Suffers Cruel Blow To Championship Hopes

The Hyundai World Rally Team today received a blow to it's chances of clinching the 1999 2-Litre World Cup for Manufacturers, with the retirement of Alister McRae from the event, as he was challenging for the Formula 2 lead.

Lying third in F2 overnight, the young Scot was mounting a charge and, having already passed Jarmo Kytolehto for second in class, was just fourteen seconds behind Tapio Laukkanen going into the 22km Tywi stage. However, 8km in, he joined a growing list of drivers to be caught out in the treacherous conditions typical of the wet, muddy Welsh stages. His Hyundai Coupe Evo2 slid wide and fell off the road into a ditch, striking a pile of logs in the process. McRae and co-driver David Senior were able to rejoin the road but shortly afterwards, the oil warning light came on and closer inspection revealed a ruptured oil cooler and a terminal leak.

With a further 55km until the next service, he was forced to retire. "It was a real shame it went wrong when it did. The first couple of stages in the day suited the Renaults a little better but the next series of longer, looser stages were more to my, and the Hyundai's, taste. There was a real chance that we could have gained more time and got past Tapio. But this sort of thing is always a possibility when you're really going for it. We tried our best and I'm sure no-one could have driven that car quicker than I did today. It's just a shame it ended so early."

McRae's team-mate, Kenneth Eriksson, was having trouble finding his natural pace on the extremely slippery stages but immediately picked up speed with the news of McRae's retirement. However, his day was not without drama, as an alternator wire melted and caused him to stop on a road section. He and co-driver Staffan Parmander managed to make it to service, where the Hyundai team, showing no aftertaste from the bitter pill they were forced to swallow earlier, repaired the car and sent Eriksson on his way. He ends the day 6th in class and 40th overall.

"Today's stages have been very slippery," said Team Principal David Whitehead. "Alister was having a very strong run but got caught out on one corner. And we know the rest. But there are still two Hyundais running and we'll keep Kenneth going as fast as possible, until the bitter end."

The third Hyundai Coupe, piloted by former National Champion Graham Middleton, ends the day 8th in Formula 2, after the last stage was stopped on the grounds of safety, due to the enormous number of spectators. The final day of the event takes the crews to the area of south Wales between Swansea and Cardiff, for a further 191 stage kilometres and nearly 500 road Kms, before arriving at the finish in Cheltenham at around 7.15pm.

Hyundai Misses Championship By Handful Of Points (November 23rd press release)
The Hyundai World Rally Team today narrowly missed clinching the 1999 FIA 2-Litre World Cup for Manufacturers by a mere seven points from French manufacturer Renault.

The team knew it faced a huge task in the days leading up to the event, needing first and second in the championship points to whip the title away from Renault, who were fielding their British team of Martin Rowe and Tapio Laukkanen. Despite the mammoth task ahead, the team approached the event with a single goal; go flat out to win the championship.

Alister McRae set the early pace, along with Laukkanen and Vauxhall's Jarmo Kytolehto. By the mid-point of the second day, he had moved into second place in class and was mounting a challenge for the lead, held by Laukkanen. However, he suffered a similar fate to many drivers, sliding wide on the treacherous muddy tracks and ending up in a ditch. He struck a pile of logs and damaged his Hyundai Coupe's oil cooler, leading to a terminal leak and his eventual retirement.

"It was a real shame it went wrong when it did. There was a real chance that we could have gained more time and got past Tapio. But this sort of thing is always a possibility when you're really going for it. We tried our best but it's a shame it ended so early," said McRae.

His team-mate Kenneth Eriksson was having trouble finding his usual speed, evident on the previous rally, Rally Australia, which he dominated from the word go. However, he too suffered problems, including a melted alternator wire on day two and an overheating engine on the final day, necessitating him to back off to preserve his finish. He ended the event fifth in class and took third placed points for the championship, since Vauxhall are not registered.

"What can I say, it's very disappointing to have come so far and get so close but not actually succeed. We were trying and when Alister went out of the event, the pressure was really on. However, with the problems we encountered through the event, it was impossible to make up enough time to get the result we needed. It would have been wonderful to take the title, for Hyundai and also for the entire team, who have worked extremely hard this year," said Eriksson, at the finish in Cheltenham.

Commenting on the season as a whole, Team Principal David Whitehead said; "It was always going to be a difficult task, being outnumbered by Renault by a ratio of three to one over the course of the year. But in the end, it was very close, just seven points in it, and we were pleased that we took the championship down to the wire. But now we will look forwards, to the competition debut of the Hyundai Accent WRC in Sweden next February.

This will be a very exciting new phase in the life of the Hyundai team." Testing on the frozen tracks of Sweden is about to begin, in preparation for the Accent's first event of the 2000 season. And even though 1999 saw the championship go to Renault by the slightest of margins, it should be remembered the Hyundai scored wins in five of the ten events it entered - a remarkable achievement in only its second season as a works team. It will be looking for further success in 2000, with strong podium finishes to reward the engineers, team and drivers in the latter half of the season.

The Hyundai World Rally Team would like to thank Michelin, Castrol, Clarion and all its partners for their valued support throughout 1999.

• 1999 FIA World Rally Championship

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