Car 1, Ogier/Ingrassia
“It’s really different, good grip like it is normally in Portugal. We pushed and we’re happy with that.”
Car 3, Meeke/Nagle
“The grip’s incredible on the second pass. Really good notes can really make a difference. But when you’re here for the first time it’s all about preparation.”
Car 4, Ostberg/Anderson
“He’s [Jari-Matti] maybe not rolled, but he’s crashed at least in quite a bad place. It’s quite high grip but quite rough, but that’s okay. I wasn’t that fast but it was okay.”
Car 5, Hirvonen/Lehtinen
“I’m on a soft tyre, it’s a bit more dry than I expected. We’ll have to see how I can get on this afternoon.”
Car 7, Neuville/Gilsoul
“I did 2km and understand that the rough ground could be bad for the tyres. The stage is quicker, but it’s going to be a lot harder on the tyres. We’re going to struggle on the next two stages. The dampers are better, but I’m understeering more because of the tyres.”
Car 8, Hänninen/Tuominen
“It looks bad [the front tyres], we have only two stages to go though. It’s drying up it seems!”
Car 9, Mikkelsen/ Markkula
“It’s definitely better. On the recce it was raining so bad I made some changes to my pace notes. It’s moving in the right direction.”
Car 11, Tanak/Molder
“Completely wrong decision on the tyres. But we just have to carry on now. We’ll try and we’ll do our best.”
Car 12, Al Qassimi/ Patterson
“It was unpredictable. There are a few corners you can go faster, also the setup is a lot better than this morning. But there were a lot of corners where I could have saved one second or two seconds.”
Car 16, Solberg/Minor
“Things are going better and better, I’m very happy. I’m on hard tyres.”
Car 20, Sordo/Marti
It’s not good on the tyres, but it’s not really bad. The car is a lot better than the first stage. You can feel there’s a lot of grip, it’s more for hard tyres. After the conditions this morning it was tough to choose hard tyres. ”
Car 21, Prokop/Tománek
“Surprised how dry it was. We thought it couldn’t be dry now. We’re worried about the tyres, it’s maybe not good for them. I’m a bit worried about it.”
Car 32, Protasov/Cherepin
“I like it second time. For me much more better grip and better pace-notes. Much better, I’m happy.”
Car 35, Ketomaa/Lindstrom
[missing rear bumper]“It’s a feature in the R5 car, not my fault! The stage was wonderful. We’re on soft tyres, we’ll see if it’s the right choice. I’m happy with the pace. There’s still more to come.”
Car 36, Barrable/Loudon
“We decided to be a bit different to everyone else We changed the suspension to a little bit harder setting and went for the hard tyre. We think it’s the right choice.”
Car 37, Bertelli/Dotta
“Everything okay.”
Car 38, Ahlin/Abrahamsen
“It was okay, we managed to get some food inside us at lunch so we’re feeling a bit better. But yeah, we’re okay.”
Car 39, Gorban/Korsia
“No problem.”
Car 40, Al-Attiyah/Bernacchini
“Very good stage. I have four soft tyres on the car, but the two spares are hard compound”
Car 41, Fuchs/ Mussano
“All is okay. I feel better with the car, we need to push a little more now. I think it’s good.”
Car 42, Tidemand/Floene
“The stage was good, all okay.”
Car 43, Sousa/Magalhães
[left rear puncture]“2km before the end I slid and hit the barrier. We should have corrected the note, but we couldn’t with no radio this morning.”
Car 44, Maurin/Klinger
“The car slides a lot, I am on soft tyres. But the wind has dried the surface, which is very abrasive. I have only soft tyres, I need to project them.”
Car 45, Aksa/Arena
“Much better pace this afternoon. Soft tyres, but they are okay.”
Car 48, Kangur/Ots
“I had a puncture on the rear left tyre, I don’t why and where I got it.”
Car 49, McCormack/ Moynhan
“Very nice stage, I enjoyed it a lot.”
Car 50, Vallario/Pascale
“More or less okay.”
Car 54, Riedemann/ Vanneste
“The stage was a bit rough, but it is still possible to drive with 2wd car. I happy with my speed.”
Car 57, Lefebvre/Dubois
“Getting much better, we are getting used to the car. Getting used to the Portuguese stage. I have only 90km of testing with the car.”
Car 62, Fisher/Noble
“I enjoyed it a lot.”
Car 65, Campedelli/ Fappani
“I changed the setup, it is much better this afternoon.”
Car 70, Kruuda/Jäveoja
“Not bad, I still enjoyed it. I made a couple of small mistakes like I braked too much. But overall I’m quite happy. There are a couple of places that are puddles, but it’s mostly dry.”
Car 72, Alonso/Monasterolo
“All okay”
Car 84, Eidan/Gelsomino
“Very good stage.”
Hyundai Motorsport has today announced Finnish driver Juho Hänninen as one of the team’s test drivers for 2013, ending weeks of speculation over the mystery man behind the wheel of the Hyundai i20 WRC in May.
Hyundai Motorsport has been building up its new operation from scratch since the start of the year, establishing the team at a dedicated facility in Alzenau, Germany and recruiting specialists at every level of its organisation.
Test drivers are an integral part of the team’s development programme, requiring the necessary skills and experience to develop a competitive and reliable rally car in a short space of time.
Six months ahead of the debut at Rallye Monte-Carlo in January 2014, Hyundai Motorsport is in the process of carrying out an intensive test programme to evaluate and develop the i20 WRC on all terrains and conditions.
Hänninen won the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in 2010 followed by the FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship and the FIA European Rally Championship titles in 2011 and 2012 respectively. He will be a valuable asset for the team to prepare the assault to the 2014 FIA World Rally Championship.
Hyundai Motorsport will soon be in a position to announce a second test driver for the remainder of the 2013 test phase. 2014 drivers will be announced at the end of the year.
Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Michel Nandan commented: “We’re very pleased to welcome Juho on board for our 2013 test programme. I’m sure his experience and background will contribute to the project and I’m happy with the job he’s done so far.
We have decided to work with different drivers with unique skills and capabilities this year, which will provide us with valuable feedback for 2014.
Hänninen said: “I’m delighted to be part of the Hyundai Motorsport testing programme for this year. It’s a fantastic opportunity to work closely to a manufacturer and to give my contribution to this great challenge.
The first run with the i20 WRC was quite positive for me; I’m very impressed with the work the team has done so far in such an incredibly short space of time. I feel comfortable with everyone in the team and I look forward to carry on working with them in the next six months.”