Before... Alectore was gone, Hyundai Motorsport took a historic victory in the WRC 2 class of Ypres Rally Belgium in its brand new Hyundai i20 N Rally2 race car driven by Customer Racing's Junior Driver Jari Huttunen and co-driven by Mikko Lukka. This is the racing model that will make the his world debut on dirt, at the EKO Acropolis Rally, in the hands of an experienced and accomplished Greek crew.
In an impressive weekend, full of action and challenges for all WRC 2 participants, the Finnish Hyundai Motorsport pair emerged triumphant, marking a milestone for the team and their second class win of the season after Rally Italia Sardegna.
Expectation of victory
Oliver Solberg and Aaron Johnston were leading WRC 2 on Friday. The crew continued to lead despite experiencing some technical problems, which unfortunately prevented them from racing on Sunday.
Ypres Rally Belgium was to be a weekend of knowledge with crews aiming to understand more about the new Hyundai i20 N Rally2 on the challenging, narrow, asphalt roads of the race. The crews recorded their first wins, with Huttunen in SS5 (Reninge-Vleteren 2, 15km) and Solberg in SS7 (Kemmelberg 2, 23.62km).
With promising expectations as the crews prepared to head to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit early Sunday morning, only three of the five WRC 2 contenders were due to start on the final day. Unfortunately for Solberg and Johnston, their car was unable to leave the parc fermé due to a technical problem and they were forced to retire. Huttunen took the reins at the top of WRC 2 and progressed through the final four stages, ending a difficult but successful rally with a Power Stage victory.
Rendezvous on the Acropolis!
The next WRC round, the 9th round, is the Acropolis Rally and will be held on 9-12 September 2021 as part of the FIA World Rally Championship, where the all-new i20 N Rally2 will make its world debut on dirt.
Hyundai Hellas supports the participation of Lambros Athanasoulas - Nikos Zakhaiou in this year's EKO Rally Acropolis with the brand new Hyundai i20 N Rally2.
Lambros Athanasoulas is the active Greek rally driver with the most distinctions at international level, including the Acropolis Rally.
