Despite leading Hyundai to its most successful season ever in terms of World Rally Championship wins, deputy team director Julien Moncet has all-but admitted he will be replaced for next season.
Moncet explained how he was dropped into the role at the last minute at the top of 2022, following Andrea Adamo’s decision to depart the Alzenau-based outfit. After a tough start to the season, Moncet guided Hyundai to five WRC wins, more than the team has ever managed in a single season previously.
Senior management in Hyundai Motorsport consistently resisted dropping the deputy from his job title and Moncet has told DirtFish he knows what his future holds. Throughout the second half of the year, there have been countless names linked to Moncet’s job.
Despite that speculation, the former head of Hyundai’s powertrain department kept his head down and did his job.
Asked to comment directly on his future, Moncet said: “I’m not sure what will happen to me next but nevertheless despite all the ups and downs of this season and despite let’s say sometimes [some] controversies, I quite enjoy this role and it’s something I would be happy to do in the future. Whether it will be here or not, this I don’t know.”
Pressed for more detail, he added: “I know [what’s going to happen]. I think I know but yeah… that’s life and we have to see how we move on.
“This was a very different job from what I used to do and I’ve been thrown into this new position from one day to another with no real preparation.
“There is no manual or no book to explain to you how to do these kind of things so definitely when I arrived in Monte Carlo I would say everything was new to me almost.
“I’ve done some rallies in the past but I was mostly based at the factory and yeah we tried our best given the situation and for sure the tough rallies were very, very difficult but we never gave up and I was quite pleasant to see the team able to be competitive, very quick, to win Sardinia and to get a lot of good results.”
Typically, he was honest in his appraisal of the season and team structure – pointing out that less interference moving forwards would help him, or his successor.
“Of course,” he said, “I will try to remember mostly the good moments more than the bad moments, there were as well some bad moments of course but yeah it has been a nice experience. It would have been maybe better sometimes with some extra support but this is a different story.
“Despite all the ups and downs of this season and despite let’s say sometimes controversies, I quite enjoy this role and it’s something I would be happy to do in the future. Whether it will be here or not this I don’t know.
“It has been a great season, I think I’m happy that somehow, given all the difficulties, we put back the team in the right direction and that it will be considered as a contender for the championship next year, I think that’s really the best result we could have achieved this year.
“So I hope now that everyone will work in the same direction, everyone will do his job and only his job.”
