Hyundai Motorsport’s party in Finland will finally not be complete. Although Ott Tänak’s overall victory in the premier class is one of the brand’s most emotionally and symbolic victories in the WRC in recent times, this success will not be complemented by victory in WRC2. Despite being the fastest Teemu Suninen has been disqualified due to a technical irregularity in his Hyundai i20 N Rally2 and loses the victory in WRC2, a victory that passes to the hands of the young Emil Lindholm.
The inspections of the technical commissioners after the event determined that the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 of Teemu Suninen did not comply with the regulations of the category nor with the data of the vehicle’s own homologation. Apparently, Teemu Suninen’s ‘Rally2’ front bumper had a final weight of 3,931 grams, well below the minimum weight of 4,510 grams needed to meet homologation. A substantial weight difference that has led Hyundai Motorsport and the Red Gray team to accept exclusion without appealing this decision.
Pablo Marcos, director of the Red Gray team, a structure that supports Hyundai’s official program in WRC2, explained that this disqualification is the product of a team error. During the tests prior to Rally Finland, the team replaced the original bumper on Teemu Suninen’s Hyundai i20 N Rally2 with a part that had not been made in Alzenau, with a view to continuing the tests without losing too much time after suffering damage to the original bumper. For forgetfulness, the team did not refit an original bumper for the rally.
As a result of this carelessness, the 28-year-old loses his first victory of the season in the WRC2 category, delivering this victory to a young Emil Lindholm who completed a positive Rally Finland at the controls of his Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo. For his part, the Estonian Egon Kaur goes on to occupy the second position in the category, while Hayden Paddon has been in charge of completing the new podium. A result that at least allows Hyundai to have a car among the top three thanks to this third place for the New Zealand driver.
Teemu Suninen’s disqualification for this 579 gram lighter bumper overshadows the great role the Finnish driver had played throughout the entire Rally Finland. In the end, Teemu had achieved the scratch in 12 of the 21 stages disputed, since SS5 had to be canceled due to the poor positioning of the public. Although at first he had surpassed Emil Lindholm by 7.7 seconds, this result has finally fallen on deaf ears.
Photos: FIA WRC