Joining the British Rally Championship regulars on the Pirelli International Rally will be a brace of Hyundai i25s headed by Finnish ace Jari Huttunen who will be making his first appearance on the Carlisle based event. Huttunen, who will be co-driven by Annti Linnaketo, shot to prominence in 2016 with a dominant performance in the German-based Opel Adam Cup series while a stand out performance on the 2017 Neste Rally Finland, where he won the WRC2 class, saw him selected for Hyundai’s Driver Development Programme. His season with them was dogged by mechanical problems although he managed 2nd overall in Poland on the Rajd Polki Rally and 5th on the Shell Helix Rally Estonia.
The Second Hyundai will be piloted by Welshman Tom Cave who comes to the Pirelli International Rally fresh from a strong 3rd place on the British Championship’s previous round, the Clonakilty West Cork Rally where he pushed the leading crews all the way and was top British Championship contender giving the Hyundai i25 it’s first British Championship victory. This was some consolation for Tom after losing out on the championship’s opening round when a series of punctures on the event’s final stage saw him retire while holding 2nd place. Cave, who will be co-driven by Dale Bowen, shot to fame when he competed in the Latvian Rally Championship as a