Teemu Suninen has been disqualified from Secto Rally Finland on Sunday night after the front bumper of his Hyundai i20 N Rally2 was found to be underweight.
The 28-year-old secured his first victory of the season in the WRC’s premier support category but was disqualified by event stewards following a hearing at the rally base in Jyväskylä.
The stewards’ decision said that in post-event scrutineering the weight of the front bumper was measured at 3,931g. That was below the minimum allowed weight of 4,510g required to comply with homologation.
Suninen’s team manager Pablo Marcos and Hyundai Customer Racing manager Andrea Cisotti both agreed the part was underweight.
They explained the front bumper was not an original part produced by Hyundai Motorsport but a copy, and that it was used as a replacement for the original bumper during testing.
The part was fitted to the car in error by the team Red Grey, which prepares Suninen’s car on behalf of Hyundai Motorsport.
Suninen’s disqualification means Škoda Fabia Rally2 driver Emil Lindholm, who finished 7.7sec behind in the rally, takes home maximum points. Egon Kaur and Hayden Paddon also gained a position to complete the new podium.
Photo: Toni Ollikainen
