Hyundai drivers Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak will be free to fight each other for the drivers’ title at next week’s Rally Japan, despite Hyundai’s unsettled fight with Toyota for the manufacturers’ crown.
Neuville has led the world championship ever since his victory at the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally, but has come under pressure from team-mate Tänak, Elfyn Evans and even Sébastien Ogier who was supposed to be doing a part-time season in 2024.
Neuville’s lead has been clipped by Tänak on each of the past two events in Chile and Central Europe, but his advantage still hands at a healthy 25 points with just 30 available.
Perhaps it’s the one-sided nature of the battle that’s prompted Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul’s stance, but he is happy for the drivers to work it out between themselves in Japan.
“It’s ultimately up to them,” Abiteboul told DirtFish. “But having said that, I think you would be foolish in thinking that Thierry will put everything in jeopardy.
Abiteboul expects Neuville to be risk-averse and is planning accordingly
“It’s very clear – the priority of the year was very clear. It was a driver championship, because that’s what’s missing in the history of Hyundai Motorsport. And it’s important not to change the priority in the course of the game, of the season.
“That priority, we know, will be met. And that’s important. And again, I think what we should do is build our plan, knowing exactly what the drivers will be after, what we should expect.
“And we should not expect from them… in other terms, we know that Thierry will be massively risk averse. That’s why we need to form our plans around that.”
As previously reported by DirtFish, Hyundai will therefore need Andreas Mikkelsen to step up in the chase for manufacturer points.
Tänak knows drivers' race is out of his hands
That’s the championship battle Tänak can have greater influence over too. As far as the drivers’ championship is concerned, Tänak sees it as Neuville’s to lose rather than his to win.
“Obviously, it’s not up to me,” Tänak told DirtFish. “The gap is the way, you know, that it’s only for Thierry to decide.
“And I mean, yeah, the only thing I can do is to score as many points as possible in Japan. And for sure, for the manufacturers, we need to fight very hard.
“But the driver’s championship, yes, it’s theoretically open. But not up to me.”
