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HYUNDAI RALLIES THE TEAM
MEMBER PROFILE
“With the windscreen crushed in, the roof half crushed in, we drove it through to thunderous applause.”
Peter Page Hyundai
Adelaide was littered with rally cars in late November last year, with the impressive vehicles seemingly on every street corner. The 2021 Shannons Adelaide Rally was as big as ever, with 400 cars participating in two stages on each of its four days. Drivers participated in over 230 competitive kilometres, making it the largest event of its type in the world in 2021. This was the first time that Hyundai entered a team into the rally, headed by Paul and Luke Page from Peter Page Hyundai, Elizabeth. “Myself and my brother did the rally as an individual Hyundai i30 N for the first time in March (2021), because it was delayed through COVID-19 – it was supposed to be in October last year,” Paul said. “It came around pretty quickly this year, we decided to put a branded group together. “For us it was excellent, we got 11 Hyundai N Performance vehicles together. We put the word out on the N Performance of South Australia Facebook page, so the majority of them came from that space, we were just rapt to be a part of it.” The rally stages were different day-to-day, taking advantage of the many twisting roads around the Adelaide Hills.
or through the hills, so you can’t get lost because you’re just driving in amongst traffic. “When you get to the next stage, all the road’s blocked off – then, 3-2-1-go hard! We follow each other in four second gaps.” Lead by the striking Performance Blue car, the cars in the team were a mix of the Hyundai N Performance range, with i30s, i20s and Fastbacks. However, one car from the team was a stand-out. Also participating was an ‘old school’ Hyundai Excel race car, which regularly competes in the Hyundai Excel Racing series. “He joined us for a bit of the old school, among the new school Hyundai vehicles,” said Paul. However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Excel. “On the last stage of the last day, the Excel − the actual racing car – just clipped a little bit of cliff face and a bit of gravel, and flipped on its roof,” he recalled. “Luckily, he had a roll cage. From a safety perspective, it had racing seats, it had proper harnesses, and as much as it looked a bit messy, he was fine, if a bit shaken.” But the Adelaide Rally hadn’t yet seen the end of the Excel.
“Myself and my service manager led the group, and my brother followed the group,” said Paul.
“It was driveable, because it had just flipped on its roof, so the suspension was good, the engine was fine,” Paul explained.
“We had to keep them all together, because between stages you’ve got to drive through the streets of Adelaide
“He got towed down to that final stage, jumped in the car, and drove through the finish line to a rousing reception.”
mtasant.com.au
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