Hyundai Motorsport will tackle two additional non-championship rallies next month as it steps up its bid for a maiden FIA World Rally Championship manufacturers’ title.

It has added an asphalt event for lead driver Thierry Neuville and a gravel fixture for Sébastien Loeb as preparation for the WRC’s penultimate round at the mixed surface RallyRACC Catalunya - Rally de España (24 - 27October).

Neuville will compete at Rallylegend (10 -13 October) in San Marino the weekend after Wales Rally GB. Loeb will return to the wheel of an i20 World Rally Car at Spain’s dirt road Rally Ciudad de Granada (18 - 19 October), the week before the country’s WRC round.

Hyundai leads the manufacturers’ standings by eight points from a closing Toyota Gazoo Racing with four rounds remaining, and Neuville emphasised the importance of asphalt preparation ahead of two days of sealed surface roads in Spain.

“It will give us a valuable opportunity to prepare for the final rounds of the WRC season. The championship is incredibly close and we are pushing hard in every area to improve,” he said.

The two warm-up events mean Hyundai’s factory squad will be in action for four consecutive weekends in October. Team director Andrea Adamo acknowledged his team’s efforts to be as prepared as possible for the title run-in.

“The entire team is doing an amazing job to include these events alongside our WRC commitments and I am thankful to them,” he explained.

“We have pushed hard to make our car more competitive this year in an extremely close championship battle. The gap has been reduced but we now have to redouble our efforts as the season finale approaches as we fight for our title ambitions.

“We are making every effort to be fully ready for the challenges that we will face against our competitors in the remaining rallies.”

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