MOTOR SPORTS NEWS

Latest News

  • Conor Daly finished 8th in his 10th Indianapolis 500 – Ed Carpenter Racing
  • Ed Carpenter Racing & Conor Daly competes in 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500
  • Jim Clark Rally takes the BRC to the closed roads of the Scottish Borders for Rd 2, 2023 season
  • How Extreme E delivered off track in Scotland
  • Misano 2023 EU Truck Race Report from T Sport Bernau team
  • Home
  • News
  • Dakar
    • DAKAR 2016
    • Dakar 2015
  • Cross-Country Rally
  • Notice Board
  • Rally
  • Motorbike
  • Touring Cars
  • Circuit Racing
  • Events
  • follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+
    • Pinterest
    • RSS Feed
    • Linked
    • Youtube

Craig Breen on Hyundai Motorsport team for WRC Rd 9: Rally Finland

Jul 26, 2019


  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Tweet
 The FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) returns from its summer break with one of the fastest and toughest events of the year – Rally Finland, round nine of the 2019 season

  • Hyundai Motorsport currently leads the manufacturers’ championship by 44 points, with Thierry Neuville only seven points away from the lead of the drivers’ standings
  • A new crew line-up for Finland sees Craig Breen/Paul Nagle join Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul and Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger-Amland in the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC cars.

Hyundai Motorsport returns from the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) summer break determined to defend its lead in the manufacturers’ standings, as the 2019 season heads to Rally Finland, round nine of the 14-event calendar.

The team enjoyed a competitive result at Rally Italia Sardegna last month, taking victory and third place to extend its advantage in the classification. The aim is to pick up where it left off at one of the most exciting but demanding events of the year.

Rally Finland, the fifth consecutive gravel event, is notorious for being the fastest on the calendar. Even the smallest of mistakes can be costly with fractions of seconds making a big difference on the timesheets. Crews will have to trust in their pace notes and fully commit; the Rally Finland challenge includes blind crests and jumps moving immediately into fast corners, and wide-open roads giving way to narrower and technical sections.

Hyundai Motorsport will field a revised three-crew line-up for Finland with Irishmen Craig Breen and Paul Nagle stepping into the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC alongside Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul and Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger-Amland.
 
All three crews have had the opportunity to test on Finnish roads ahead of the rally in order to prepare as diligently as possible. Mikkelsen and Breen also participated in the Rally Estonia WRC promotional event earlier this month on fast and flowing roads similar to those which will be faced in Finland.

Team Director Andrea Adamo said: “We return from the summer break, but we have been continuing to prepare ourselves for the challenges that await in this second part of the season. Finland will offer us a very stern test, one which we need to tackle head-on. We have made a slight change to our crew composition for this rally, bringing in the experience of Craig and Paul to support our championship efforts alongside Thierry/Nicolas and Andreas/Anders. Meanwhile, we have also been working hard on the i20 Coupe WRC to prepare it for Finland’s high-speed gravel roads. It is a rally like no other and we want to be in the mix from the start.”

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (#11 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

  • Belgian crew maintaining pressure in the drivers’ championship, seven points from lead
  • Crew aiming to make headway with a strong Finnish weekend

Neuville said: “Finland is a challenging event, and one I enjoy driving. You have a lot of good sensations in the car and a lot of adrenaline, especially after the huge jumps. It’s what we drivers really love and I’m hoping it will be a good event for our team this year, as we aim to defend our manufacturers’ position. We are also only seven points from first place in the drivers’ championship, and our aim is to close that gap even further in Finland.”

Crew Notes: Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jæger-Amland (#89 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

  • Podium at Rally Italia Sardegna showed Norwegians’ competitive edge
  • A strong second place in Estonia acted as perfect preparation for Finland

Mikkelsen said: “The road profiles in Finland are so different to any other rally: the surface is really hard. A lot of the roads are quite wide and it’s very fast with a lot of blind crests and jumps, so you have to be very committed and trust your pace notes. When you feel comfortable there, it’s the most beautiful rally in the world – but if you don’t, it’s the worst place on earth. We want to be back fighting at the front of the pack, just as we were in Sardinia.”

Crew Notes: Craig Breen/Paul Nagle (#42 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

  • Irish crew set for their debut with Hyundai Motorsport
  • Breen took his maiden WRC podium at the 2016 edition of Rally Finland

Breen said: “Rally Finland is very close to my heart. It’s the event I’ve done the most and this year marks ten years since I first competed there. I have a lot of amazing memories from the start of my career and my first podium there in 2016. It’s a rally I always enjoy with fast roads and flying in the forests. I’m really looking forward to it this year in the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC.”

Weekend at a glance

  • 23 stages run over a competitive distance of 307.58km
  • Action begins with 2.31km sprint Harju 1 in central Jyväskylä
  • Friday covers ten stages totalling a distance of 126.55km in the west
  • Saturday is the longest distance of the rally, with eight stages spanning 132.98km
  • On Sunday crews will move east for two classic stages: Laukaa and the big jumps of Ruuhimäki are each repeated once.

  • tweet
Related articles
  • Conor Daly finished 8th in his 10th Indianapolis 500 – Ed Carpenter Racing
    Conor Daly finished 8th in his 10th...

    May 30, 2023 Comments Off on Conor Daly finished 8th in his 10th Indianapolis 500 – Ed Carpenter Racing

  • Ed Carpenter Racing & Conor Daly competes in 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500
    Ed Carpenter Racing & Conor Daly...

    May 27, 2023 Comments Off on Ed Carpenter Racing & Conor Daly competes in 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500

  • Jim Clark Rally takes the BRC to the closed roads of the Scottish Borders for Rd 2, 2023 season
    Jim Clark Rally takes the BRC to the...

    May 26, 2023 Comments Off on Jim Clark Rally takes the BRC to the closed roads of the Scottish Borders for Rd 2, 2023 season

  • How Extreme E delivered off track in Scotland
    How Extreme E delivered off track in...

    May 26, 2023 Comments Off on How Extreme E delivered off track in Scotland

More in this category
  • Conor Daly finished 8th in his 10th Indianapolis 500 – Ed Carpenter Racing
    Conor Daly finished 8th in his 10th...

    Comments Off on Conor Daly finished 8th in his 10th Indianapolis 500 – Ed Carpenter Racing

  • Ed Carpenter Racing & Conor Daly competes in 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500
    Ed Carpenter Racing & Conor Daly...

    Comments Off on Ed Carpenter Racing & Conor Daly competes in 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500

  • Jim Clark Rally takes the BRC to the closed roads of the Scottish Borders for Rd 2, 2023 season
    Jim Clark Rally takes the BRC to the...

    Comments Off on Jim Clark Rally takes the BRC to the closed roads of the Scottish Borders for Rd 2, 2023 season

  • Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux crew Al-Rajhi & Gottschalk win new Tabuk-Neom Rally
    Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux crew...

    Comments Off on Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux crew Al-Rajhi & Gottschalk win new Tabuk-Neom Rally


Fleet Car Magazine

Notice Board

  • For Sale! 1991 Jordan-Ford driven by Mick Schumacher at Bonhams Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris auction
    For Sale! 1991 Jordan-Ford driven by Mick Schumacher at...

    Jan 18, 2023

    Tweet1991 Jordan-Ford driven by Mick Schumacher in 2021 to...
  • Opel Ireland partners with Mondello Park to launch 2022 EARLY-DRIVE road safety programme
    Opel Ireland partners with Mondello Park to launch 2022...

    Aug 21, 2022

    TweetA unique young driver education programme, developed...
  • Goodyear FIA ETRC pays tribute to Anthony Janiec
    Goodyear FIA ETRC pays tribute to Anthony Janiec

    Aug 07, 2022

    Tweet The Goodyear FIA ETRC, ETRA Promotion and the entire...
  • Killarney Forestry Rally to raise funds for Air Ambulance
    Killarney Forestry Rally to raise funds for Air Ambulance

    Feb 03, 2022

    TweetRally drivers from across Ireland will help fund...
  • McHugh’s Service Station, Ballindine Mayo Stages Rally, 6 March 2022
    McHugh’s Service Station, Ballindine Mayo Stages Rally, 6...

    Jan 27, 2022

    TweetMayo & District Motorsport Club, organisers of the...

Categories

  • Africa Eco-Race
  • Baja
  • BRC
  • Circuit Racing
  • Cross-Country Rally
  • Dakar
  • Dakar 2015
  • DAKAR 2016
  • DAKAR 2017
  • DAKAR 2019 PERU
  • DAKAR RALLY 2018
  • EV Motorsport
  • Events
  • EverGreeens: Irish Abroad
  • Extreme E
  • Forestry Rally
  • Formula 1
  • Hillclimb
  • IndyCar Series
  • Interview
  • Middle East Rally Championship
  • Morocco Rally
  • Motorbike
  • News
  • Notice Board
  • Rally
  • RallyX
  • Related products
  • Review
  • Sportscars
  • Touring Cars
  • Tribute
  • Truck Racing
  • Uncategorized
  • Video
  • WRC
Tweets by @IrMotSportNews

Recent Posts

How Extreme E delivered off track in Scotland

How Extreme E delivered off track in Scotland

May 26, 2023

Tweet The Hydro X Prix in Dumfries and Galloway marked a number of successes on course at the former opencast coal mine at Glenmuckloch. There were also multiple initiatives taking place off-track as...
Read More
Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux crew Al-Rajhi & Gottschalk win new Tabuk-Neom Rally

Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux crew Al-Rajhi...

May 21, 2023

X44 Vida Carbon Racing’s Fraser McConnell’s first win in Extreme E

X44 Vida Carbon Racing’s Fraser...

May 19, 2023

40 years of Audi Sport GmbH with a Rev-Up at the Nürburgring!

40 years of Audi Sport GmbH with a Rev-Up at the...

May 19, 2023

Impressive entry list for first Tabuk-Neom Rally: 2023 Saudi Toyota Rally Championship

Impressive entry list for first Tabuk-Neom Rally:...

May 14, 2023

Copyright 2016 / All rights reserved