[Bart]

HYUNDAI

Technical: Armin Schwarz's Accent WRC3 was reliable until today's
final pair of stages, when a brake calliper connector broke. Team
mate Freddy Loix's car lost oil from its left-front damper in the long
stage, giving the Belgian a difficult-handling car for the last six
kilometres of the stage. Juha Kankkunen retired this morning, meanwhile,
when the team changed the car's wiring loom in a final attempt to
solve the Finnish veteran's engine problems. Upon leaving service
Kankkunen reported no improvement and Hyundai elected to withdraw
him. The team now suspects a problem with the engine's valves or valve
seats.

Sporting: Armin Schwarz has struggled with a badly-upset stomach
today, although the German put his slower pace this morning down to
a tyre choice that left him short of grip. He and Loix also complained
of a lack of power in places, particularly in the steep uphill section
at the start of SS8. Schwarz was hit by late brake problems too and
he slipped back outside the top ten to 11th, while Loix (who also
lost more time with a leaking front damper in SS9) holds fifth. The
third Accent driver Juha Kankkunen was withdrawn this morning when
the Hyundai team elected to search for the engine problem that had
blighted his efforts since yesterday, instead of risking an engine
failure and a loss of crucial information.

Quotes: Freddy Loix said: "The uphill sections were really hard,
because we almost had to change down to first gear and when you do
that, you get lots more wheelspin and it hurts the tyres. This is
still a long event, though, and we're still in with a good chance of
some points."


(Bron: www.wrc.com)