Weather problems caused a cancellation of a number of stages in the event this year, however the competition was close for the stages which did run.
Thierry Neuville in the lead i20 WRC 2nd Gen, saw a first day centre diff failure on the third stage which left him limping through the rest of the day with 2 and sometimes even 1 wheel drive, not great on any of the events but least of all on the only true snow event of the year. At the end of the first day he had dropped to 27th place. A spirited run over the next two days saw him rise to 14th place by the end and almost take the Colins Crest accolade for a second year in a row, jumping the car 44m, but pipped by an unknown driver in a Fiesta who removed his brain and flew for 45M.
Dani Sordo in the Hyundai Motorsport N car had a steady run through the three days, resulting in a reasonable, if non remarkable run to 6th place at the end of the three days of competition.
Haydon Paddon in the second Team 1 car had a fantastic weekend, his lower running order on the road helping him to finish day one in 2nd place as the falling snow provided him with not only an additional level of grip, but also the opportunity to see the lines created by the crews in front and attack a little harder than those preceding him through the stages.
A couple of fastest times ensued and on day two, he managed to take further time from the current champ Sebastien Ogier in his Polo WRC, getting to within 8 seconds of the Frenchman. A decision taken later on day 2 saw Paddon and Hyundai agree that it was not worth risking a podium finish by chasing Ogier even harder and he settled into a comfortable pace.
A nervy final stage saw Paddon cut a corner a little too much and clobber the front of the i20, finishing the stage and timed sections approx. 30 seconds behind Ogier in 2nd but left with a burst radiator and the prospect of an anxious 86km road section to complete before checking into final control. To Paddon and Hyundai's delight the car made it and so Hyundai Motorsport take second place in both the first and second rallies of the year.
Hyundai currently sit in 2nd place in the manufacturers championship, a position not only achieved by their good finishing, but also by Citroen's awful luck, Briton Kris Meeke having retired from both Monte and Sweden when the DS3 WRC got broken by unseen rocks whilst lying in podium positions on both events.
