The drivers of the Hyundai World Rally Team have expressed their relief at the end of a tarmac season that has left much to be desired, especially during the Rally in Japan, where they were once again surpassed by the strong competition from Toyota.
With their well-tuned GR Yaris, Toyota positioned itself as the clear favorite for the last tarmac rally of the season. Meanwhile, Hyundai has struggled to optimize its i20 N, to the point that, in some cases, its EVO car from last year has seemed to regress in performance.
After an impressive performance from Toyota, which achieved a 1-2-3-4 finish in the last tarmac rally in the Canary Islands, Hyundai’s expectations were high for the Rally in Japan. The initial wet conditions allowed driver Thierry Neuville to maintain fourth position during the early stages, but understeer and balance issues surfaced as the terrain dried.
In the end, Neuville had to settle for sixth place, finishing 38.8 seconds slower than his teammate Adrien Fourmaux, who placed fifth, 2 minutes and 34.8 seconds behind the winner, Elfyn Evans.
Neuville acknowledged the frustration: “I am disappointed that I couldn’t improve in terms of setup. There’s no point even comparing ourselves to Toyota, there’s no comparison”. He expressed his enthusiasm for the next phase of the competition focused on gravel rallies, where he hopes Hyundai can shine more.
Fourmaux, for his part, agreed with Neuville, stating that the end of asphalt racing is a relief and that they can now focus on gravel rallies. “In wet conditions we lost a lot of time, but in the dry I couldn’t set good times against them [Toyota], so it’s very frustrating,” Fourmaux said.
The next phase of the championship will include seven consecutive gravel rallies, starting with the Acrópolis Rally in Greece in the coming days, a terrain where Hyundai has achieved successes in the past, including victories in 2022 and 2024 thanks to Neuville.
Hyundai’s sporting director, Andrew Wheatley, acknowledged the efforts of his drivers but admitted that they had expected more from the vehicle during the Rally in Japan. “We managed to get three cars to finish without technical issues. The drivers have learned a lot, and they have done everything they could,” Wheatley concluded.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
