Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul take lead on Saturday: WRC Round 4
Bastia (Corsica), 30 March 2019: Hyundai Motorsport has moved into the lead of Tour de Corse after a dramatic penultimate day of action in the fourth round of the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).
Belgians Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul hold a 4.5-second lead over Elfyn Evans with two stages left to run on Sunday morning. Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio remain in a close fight for the podium, in fourth place overall, while Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena finished Saturday’s schedule in eighth position.
On the longest day of Tour de Corse, crews tackled almost 175km of competitive tarmac stages. A loop of three stages started with a 25.62km run through Cap Corse and the shorter 14.45km Désert des Agriates test, before culminating with the monster 47.18km Castagniccia.
The trio of Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team crews all set times inside the top-three during the day. Sordo claimed a stage win in the first Castagniccia stage (SS9), while Neuville took honours with impressive runs in the two final stages of the afternoon loop.
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (#11 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
- Stage wins in SS11 (Désert des Agriates) and SS12 (Castagniccia)
- Belgians moved into the rally lead with an impressive performance on the final stage
- Stage win for the Spaniards in the first run through Castagniccia (SS9)
- Competitive battle for the final podium position with five-second gap to Ogier
- Another day of improvements for the nine-time world champions following an off into the ditch in SS9
- Crew worked hard on car set-up to make positive gains during the day
Sunday at a glance
- Two stages remain on the Tour de Corse itinerary, with no opportunity for respite.
- A long 31.85km run through Eaux de Zilia will start the day in style before the rally concludes with the 19.34km Power Stage at Calvi.
1 | T. Neuville | N. Gilsoul | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 2:56:50.0 |
2 | E. Evans | S. Martin | Ford Fiesta WRC | +4.5 |
3 | S. Ogier | J. Ingrassia | Citroën C3 WRC | +44.8 |
4 | D. Sordo | C. del Barrio | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | +49.9 |
5 | T. Suninen | M. Salminen | Ford Fiesta WRC | +1:32.1 |
6 | O. Tänak | M. Järveoja | Toyota Yaris WRC | +1:54.5 |
7 | E. Lappi | J. Ferm | Citroën C3 WRC | +1:59.3 |
8 | S. Loeb | D. Elena | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | +3:21.4 |
9 | K. Meeke | S. Marshall | Toyota Yaris WRC | +3:55.9 |
10 | J.M Latvala | M. Anttila | Toyota Yaris WRC | +6:35.4 |