Slovenian title defence for i20 R5 | Hyundai N
Slovenian crew Rok Turk and Blanka Kacin have been declared national rally champions after organisers cancelled the final scheduled round of the season, Rally Idrija.
The Hyundai Slovenia-supported pair successfully defended their crown, claiming maximum points in all three rounds of the shortened championship. The result marks their fourth consecutive title, and second in a row with the i20 R5.
Our Customer Racing Operations Leader Andrew Johns said: “The cancellation of Rally Idrija was not the end of the Slovenian national rally season that anyone wanted. However, it takes nothing away from the results achieved by Rok Turk, Blanka Kacin and Team Hyundai Slovenia to defend the title they won last year with the i20 R5.”
Their competitive year started with second overall on Rally Velenje, finishing ahead of their nearest rivals in the Slovenian championship by nearly a minute. At Rally Železniki the duo took their Friulmotor-run car to the fastest time on all six stages to claim overall victory. It was a result they repeated, in equally dominant style, in Croatia at Rally Poreč to extend their lead in the points’ standings.
The final round at Rally Idrija was set to give the crew an opportunity to add a final exclamation point on their excellent season. However, with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic worsening, series organisers were left with no option but to cancel the event, confirming the title for the Hyundai crew.
Just as they did in 2019, Rok and Blanka showed their dominance at national level, as well as the performance and reliability of the i20 R5. In total over the three events, the pair set the fastest time on 17 of the 20 stages contested on the tarmac roads in pursuit of the national crown.
“The performance they have shown on the stages this year – and the startling statistics they have created – have proved their dominance at the national level,” added Andrew. “The perfect demonstration of the strong performance and reliability of the car Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing provides.”