Hyundai Motor wins triple crown of world rally championships

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. has won the triple crown of the world’s three motorsport events – the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), the FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) and the Electric Touring Car Racing (ETCR) over the weekend.

The company said Hyundai Motorsport has taken the victory of the 2021 WRC with a superb double podium finish in Rally de Espana.

Hyundai’s rally team Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe swept the all-tarmac rally to confirm their second win of the season, with team-mates Dani Sordo and Candido Carrera in third – their first podium as a crew.

The Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaegh duo’s Hyundai i20 Coupe won 10 of the 17 smooth asphalt speed tests in the Costa Daurada hills, beating the runner-up Toyota team by 24.1 seconds.

Meanwhile, Hyundai’s Avante N TCR car won the second race of the WTCR held in France, and Hyundai’s Veloster N ETCR car reaped the victory in the pure electric car race.

Established in December 2012, Hyundai Motorsport is responsible for Hyundai’s global motorsport activities, including the FIA World Rally Championship, Customer Racing and electric racing projects.

In WRC, Hyundai Motorsport established a strong reputation when it took victory in its 2014 debut season. The team finished as a runner-up in the manufacturers’ championship on three consecutive occasions between 2016 and 2018 before claiming its first title in 2019.

Under Hyundai Motorsport, WRC, Customer Racing and electric racing are playing instrumental roles in promoting Hyundai’s high-performance N brand globally.

The next WRC will take place at Rally Monza from Nov. 19 to 21.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.