The "newborn" HMI team, directed by Luca Murdolo, brought the Hyundai i20 WRC to its Italian debut in the 39. Rally 1000 Miglia, finishing in fourth place overall with the crew of Corrado Fontana - Nicola Arena.
A rally in a crescendo for the driver from Como, committed to adjust the settings of the car which arrived in Italy a few days before the race. During the day the stage times went steadily improving, quickly settling just outside the podium spots.
After 100 km of special stages, Corrado Fontana and the i20 WRC finish the 39. Rally 1000 Miglia in fourth place, in a rally dominated by the three-time European Champion Luca Rossetti.
Corrado Fontana: "Today it was a race to discovery with this car, which usually races on different roads, with other tyres and with different set-ups. We will do a day of testing to adjust it to my preferences, then we will definitely do well. Today the level of the first drivers was certainly high, we have seen where we can improve and we are extremely confident because the car is really very beautiful".
Final Standings 39. Rally 1000 Miglia:
1.Rossetti-Maurigi (Ford Fiesta Wrc) in 1:02'52.6 ; 2.Chentre-Gualtieri (Ford Focus Wrc) at 19.0 ; 3.Signor- Bernardi( Ford Focus Wrc) at 23.2 ; 4.Fontana-Arena (Hyundai i20 Wrc) at 1'31.0 ; 5.Manzini-Lucchi (Ford Fiesta WRC) at 2'19.7