The #Hyundai Motorsport Driver development Program duo of #jarihuttunen and Antti Linnaketo completed their first tarmac #rally in the #Hyundai i20 R5 at Rallye Deutschland today, having demonstrated their ability to compete for top-three stage times. The Finnish pair, in their fifth appearance of the 2018 FIA World #rally Championship (WRC), competed twice previously on the complex German tarmac stages, but this weekend’s event represented their first participation in WRC2. The #rally itinerary saw crews negotiate vineyard stages above the Mosel valley on Friday before moving onto the military roads of Baumholder on Saturday. Three final stages on Sunday morning in the open countryside meant that there was no respite for crews or teams. Following a super special at St. Wendel on Thursday evening, Huttunen got up to speed quickly on Friday morning’s loop. Third and fourth fastest times respectively on the two runs through the 9.27km Wadern-Weiskirchen stage enabled the Finns to finish in eighth overall at the end of the opening day. The iconic Panzerplatte, the longest stage of the weekend at 38.57km, dominated Saturday’s schedule. On the first attempt in their i20 R5, the HMDP crew claimed the third quickest time and headed into lunchtime service up to sixth in WRC2. Unfortunately, bad luck struck on the repeat loop with an alternator belt issue. Despite changing the belt mid-stage, a subsequent turbo issue forced an early retirement for the pair. Re-joining under #rally 2 on Sunday morning, with two passes through the 29.07km Grafschaft and the 14.97km Bosenberg Power Stage, Huttunen and Linnaketo enjoyed a strong conclusion to their German #rally with more top-six stage times.
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