The weekend of the Serras de Fafe e Felgueiras Rally, sixth round of the European Rally Championship, had started very well for Umberto Scandola and Danilo Fappani: best time in the Shakedown and fifth in the Qualifyng Stage under the sun.
The optimal settings of the Pirelli-shod Hyundai i20 R5 and the good job done in the reconnaissance by the Hyundai Rally Team Italia crew gave us hope at the start of the long and unprecedented Portuguese race.
Instead, the rain made the dirt road surface north of Porto very treacherous with minimal grip. In these conditions Umberto Scandola preferred a cautious approach, sacrificing a bit the absolute performance.
The goal of this first season in the ERC is always to gain experience in the first pass, and then to increase the pace in the repetition of the tests thanks to greater confidence. At the first reorganization after 4 four timed sections the Hyundai Rally Team Italia crew is eighth but with 4 crews in their sights within just 4 ”8.
The Fafe rally continues with the repetition of the tests. At the first reorganization after 4 four timed sections the Hyundai Rally Team Italia crew is eighth but the rain and the bottom have dug a lot, making large stones emerge. One of these probably triggers a puncture that wastes precious seconds.
Umberto Scandola, Danilo Fappani, Hyundai Rally Team Italia / SA Motorsport, Hyundai i20 R5
Photo by: Massimo Bettiol
Shortly after, a problem with a front axle forced the crew to retire in the seventh special stage. At that point the regulation of the European Championship allows you to re-enter the race in the next stage but with a heavy handicap for each special stage not played. With a delay of 30 minutes, the ambitions to score points and for the crew and the team vanish.
On Sunday in the other eight special stages, the weather improves slightly and setup and tire solutions are tested. Umberto Scandola slips some excellent time as the third time trial in the penultimate special, but the delay in the standings is too heavy to be recovered even in part.
Without the 30 ‘penalty, Scandola-Fappani would have finished on the third step of the podium in a very demanding rally that saw many retirements, including those of fellow colors Sordo-Carrera and Taddei-Gaspari with the other i20 of SA Motorsport. On the other hand, Bruno Magalhães made a good debut with the new Hyundai i20 N Rally2: the three-time Portuguese champion finished in fourth position.
“Let’s go back to Italy with a little bitter taste in our mouth”, declared Scandola at the finish line. “We were aware that it was going to be a challenging rally, the rain and fog made everything much more difficult for us as we were making our debut. Then in the second passage the roads have been dug becoming prohibitive. The pace we had decided to set in the end would have rewarded us, too bad for the problem with a drive shaft which penalized us in a decisive way. Now there are two races left at the end of the European Championship, one on asphalt and one on dirt, and we want to close the international season with a crescendo ”.
The next European round for Hyundai Rally Team Italia will be on the fast and often “dirty” asphalts of the Rally of Hungary on 22-24 October.
The weekend of the Serras de Fafe e Felgueiras Rally, sixth round of the European Rally Championship, had started very well for Umberto Scandola and Danilo Fappani: best time in the Shakedown and fifth in the Qualifyng Stage under the sun.
The optimal settings of the Pirelli-shod Hyundai i20 R5 and the good job done in the reconnaissance by the Hyundai Rally Team Italia crew gave us hope at the start of the long and unprecedented Portuguese race.
Instead, the rain made the dirt road surface north of Porto very treacherous with minimal grip. In these conditions Umberto Scandola preferred a cautious approach, sacrificing a bit the absolute performance.
The goal of this first season in the ERC is always to gain experience in the first pass, and then to increase the pace in the repetition of the tests thanks to greater confidence. At the first reorganization after 4 four timed sections the Hyundai Rally Team Italia crew is eighth but with 4 crews in their sights within just 4 ”8.
The Fafe rally continues with the repetition of the tests. At the first reorganization after 4 four timed sections the Hyundai Rally Team Italia crew is eighth but the rain and the bottom have dug a lot, making large stones emerge. One of these probably triggers a puncture that wastes precious seconds.
Umberto Scandola, Danilo Fappani, Hyundai Rally Team Italia / SA Motorsport, Hyundai i20 R5
Photo by: Massimo Bettiol
Shortly after, a problem with a front axle forced the crew to retire in the seventh special stage. At that point the regulation of the European Championship allows you to re-enter the race in the next stage but with a heavy handicap for each special stage not played. With a delay of 30 minutes, the ambitions to score points and for the crew and the team vanish.
On Sunday in the other eight special stages, the weather improves slightly and setup and tire solutions are tested. Umberto Scandola slips some excellent time as the third time trial in the penultimate special, but the delay in the standings is too heavy to be recovered even in part.
Without the 30 ‘penalty, Scandola-Fappani would have finished on the third step of the podium in a very demanding rally that saw many retirements, including those of fellow colors Sordo-Carrera and Taddei-Gaspari with the other i20 of SA Motorsport. On the other hand, Bruno Magalhães made a good debut with the new Hyundai i20 N Rally2: the three-time Portuguese champion finished in fourth position.
“Let’s go back to Italy with a little bitter taste in our mouth”, declared Scandola at the finish line. “We were aware that it was going to be a challenging rally, the rain and fog made everything much more difficult for us as we were making our debut. Then in the second passage the roads have been dug becoming prohibitive. The pace we had decided to set in the end would have rewarded us, too bad for the problem with a drive shaft which penalized us in a decisive way. Now there are two races left at the end of the European Championship, one on asphalt and one on dirt, and we want to close the international season with a crescendo ”.
The next European round for Hyundai Rally Team Italia will be on the fast and often “dirty” asphalts of the Rally of Hungary on 22-24 October.
The weekend of the Serras de Fafe e Felgueiras Rally, sixth round of the European Rally Championship, had started very well for Umberto Scandola and Danilo Fappani: best time in the Shakedown and fifth in the Qualifyng Stage under the sun.
The optimal settings of the Pirelli-shod Hyundai i20 R5 and the good job done in the reconnaissance by the Hyundai Rally Team Italia crew gave us hope at the start of the long and unprecedented Portuguese race.
Instead, the rain made the dirt road surface north of Porto very treacherous with minimal grip. In these conditions Umberto Scandola preferred a cautious approach, sacrificing a bit the absolute performance.
The goal of this first season in the ERC is always to gain experience in the first pass, and then to increase the pace in the repetition of the tests thanks to greater confidence. At the first reorganization after 4 four timed sections the Hyundai Rally Team Italia crew is eighth but with 4 crews in their sights within just 4 ”8.
The Fafe rally continues with the repetition of the tests. At the first reorganization after 4 four timed sections the Hyundai Rally Team Italia crew is eighth but the rain and the bottom have dug a lot, making large stones emerge. One of these probably triggers a puncture that wastes precious seconds.
Umberto Scandola, Danilo Fappani, Hyundai Rally Team Italia / SA Motorsport, Hyundai i20 R5
Photo by: Massimo Bettiol
Shortly after, a problem with a front axle forced the crew to retire in the seventh special stage. At that point the regulation of the European Championship allows you to re-enter the race in the next stage but with a heavy handicap for each special stage not played. With a delay of 30 minutes, the ambitions to score points and for the crew and the team vanish.
On Sunday in the other eight special stages, the weather improves slightly and setup and tire solutions are tested. Umberto Scandola slips some excellent time as the third time trial in the penultimate special, but the delay in the standings is too heavy to be recovered even in part.
Without the 30 ‘penalty, Scandola-Fappani would have finished on the third step of the podium in a very demanding rally that saw many retirements, including those of fellow colors Sordo-Carrera and Taddei-Gaspari with the other i20 of SA Motorsport. On the other hand, Bruno Magalhães made a good debut with the new Hyundai i20 N Rally2: the three-time Portuguese champion finished in fourth position.
“Let’s go back to Italy with a little bitter taste in our mouth”, declared Scandola at the finish line. “We were aware that it was going to be a challenging rally, the rain and fog made everything much more difficult for us as we were making our debut. Then in the second passage the roads have been dug becoming prohibitive. The pace we had decided to set in the end would have rewarded us, too bad for the problem with a drive shaft which penalized us in a decisive way. Now there are two races left at the end of the European Championship, one on asphalt and one on dirt, and we want to close the international season with a crescendo ”.
The next European round for Hyundai Rally Team Italia will be on the fast and often “dirty” asphalts of the Rally of Hungary on 22-24 October.
The weekend of the Serras de Fafe e Felgueiras Rally, sixth round of the European Rally Championship, had started very well for Umberto Scandola and Danilo Fappani: best time in the Shakedown and fifth in the Qualifyng Stage under the sun.
The optimal settings of the Pirelli-shod Hyundai i20 R5 and the good job done in the reconnaissance by the Hyundai Rally Team Italia crew gave us hope at the start of the long and unprecedented Portuguese race.
Instead, the rain made the dirt road surface north of Porto very treacherous with minimal grip. In these conditions Umberto Scandola preferred a cautious approach, sacrificing a bit the absolute performance.
The goal of this first season in the ERC is always to gain experience in the first pass, and then to increase the pace in the repetition of the tests thanks to greater confidence. At the first reorganization after 4 four timed sections the Hyundai Rally Team Italia crew is eighth but with 4 crews in their sights within just 4 ”8.
The Fafe rally continues with the repetition of the tests. At the first reorganization after 4 four timed sections the Hyundai Rally Team Italia crew is eighth but the rain and the bottom have dug a lot, making large stones emerge. One of these probably triggers a puncture that wastes precious seconds.
Umberto Scandola, Danilo Fappani, Hyundai Rally Team Italia / SA Motorsport, Hyundai i20 R5
Photo by: Massimo Bettiol
Shortly after, a problem with a front axle forced the crew to retire in the seventh special stage. At that point the regulation of the European Championship allows you to re-enter the race in the next stage but with a heavy handicap for each special stage not played. With a delay of 30 minutes, the ambitions to score points and for the crew and the team vanish.
On Sunday in the other eight special stages, the weather improves slightly and setup and tire solutions are tested. Umberto Scandola slips some excellent time as the third time trial in the penultimate special, but the delay in the standings is too heavy to be recovered even in part.
Without the 30 ‘penalty, Scandola-Fappani would have finished on the third step of the podium in a very demanding rally that saw many retirements, including those of fellow colors Sordo-Carrera and Taddei-Gaspari with the other i20 of SA Motorsport. On the other hand, Bruno Magalhães made a good debut with the new Hyundai i20 N Rally2: the three-time Portuguese champion finished in fourth position.
“Let’s go back to Italy with a little bitter taste in our mouth”, declared Scandola at the finish line. “We were aware that it was going to be a challenging rally, the rain and fog made everything much more difficult for us as we were making our debut. Then in the second passage the roads have been dug becoming prohibitive. The pace we had decided to set in the end would have rewarded us, too bad for the problem with a drive shaft which penalized us in a decisive way. Now there are two races left at the end of the European Championship, one on asphalt and one on dirt, and we want to close the international season with a crescendo ”.
The next European round for Hyundai Rally Team Italia will be on the fast and often “dirty” asphalts of the Rally of Hungary on 22-24 October.