Statistically, Hyundai has never been at its best on fast gravel rallies but, as we stare down the barrel of a trio of such events, World Rally Championship leader Thierry Neuville believes there is cause for optimism.
After the rough roads of Rally Italy Sardinia, the pace of the WRC is about to kick up a couple of notches with trips to Poland, Latvia and Finland. This summer of speed could be instrumental in the race for the WRC title and, traditionally at least, it’s a triple-header Hyundai might look at with some trepidation.
First up is Rally Poland, which the WRC last visited back in 2017. Neuville came out on top on that occasion, but he is conscious that success there does not necessarily translate to the two rallies that follow.
He told DirtFish: “I mean, Poland, it’s still a bit different type and will be soft surface, and on soft surface, we are not too bad.
“It’s mainly on the hard ground like Estonia or even more Finland where we struggle a lot, and we have been better. I believe there’s still room for improvement on those surfaces.”
Neuville won on the WRC's last visit to Poland in 2017
Neuville’s assertion may be correct, but that’s not to say that there hasn’t been progress. Ott Tanak had to balance his i20 N Rally1 on the ragged edge to haul it to victory on Rally Finland in 2022. But since joining the team last year, 2019 Finland winner Esapekka Lappi has helped with its development.
Importantly, Hyundai has also established a permanent base in Finland so more time can be spent honing the car for the particular challenges of fast, firm, undulating gravel roads.
Neuville’s second place in 2023 demonstrated the value of his team’s investment and his own increased confidence with the car in such conditions. It was no flash in the pan, as that result came off the back of another second in Estonia just two weeks earlier.
Estonia might have been replaced by Rally Latvia for 2024, but steps have undoubtedly been made. Neuville explained: “Since we are testing also in Finland, we have improved on that surface, which was clearly for me, from a driver’s point of view, always a struggle because you don’t get so much mileage on those roads.
“But since we’re testing there, I’m getting more confident and understand more the techniques as well over there, and the car obviously improved.”
