Hyundai scores podium on rally return.
Hyundai Australia scored a podium finish on its return to top-tier rallying in Australia in the opening round of the 2022 Australian Rally Championship.
Hyundai N driver Brendan Reeves and co-driver Kate Catford raced their ‘Let’s play’ Hyundai i20 N R5 to third position in the Netier National Capital Rally, held in challenging conditions on rough forest roads around Canberra.
The 33-year-old Victorian, a former WRC Academy driver, and his two-time Targa champion co-driver, overcame braking issues early in the event to claim two outright stage victories during Sunday’s second leg, becoming the first team to beat the dominant Toyota outfit in over three years.
In the end, Reeves and Catford finished 3:44.4sec behind the lead Toyota of Harry Bates and John McCarthy.
“We had a tough start on Saturday and lost a lot of time with braking issues. But the team did an amazing job to fine tune the Hyundai i20 N R5 over the weekend and we certainly enjoyed scoring two stage wins on Sunday.
“We’re extremely proud to finish on the podium. But equally I’m confident we could have pushed the competition harder and challenged for victory with more time in the car.
“Thanks to Hyundai Australia, Hyundai Genuine Parts and N Australia for the support. We hope we can ‘Let’s play’ in more events later in the year.”
““It’s fantastic to be back on the podium in the Australian Rally Championship representing Hyundai N,”
“We had a tough start on Saturday and lost a lot of time with braking issues. But the team did an amazing job to fine tune the Hyundai i20 N R5 over the weekend and we certainly enjoyed scoring two stage wins on Sunday.
“We’re extremely proud to finish on the podium. But equally I’m confident we could have pushed the competition harder and challenged for victory with more time in the car. - Reeves said.
2022 Netier National Capital Rally Results:
- Bates / McCarthy
- Van Gisbergen/ Weston +1.26.6 sec
- Reeves/ Catford +3.44.4 sec
- Gill / Bessell +8:10.9sec
- Clarke / Preston +9.51:01.6