Hyundai Remain Unchanged For Iconic Rally Finland

Hyundai Motorsport is ready to fly through the forests of Finland next week, as the country plays host to the ninth round of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) season.

The team is looking to bounce back from a difficult outing at Rally Latvia, where the fast gravel roads offered a great deal of obstacles for Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team. Hyundai Motorsport departed the event still top of both the manufacturers’ and drivers’ championship standings, but now looks to regain momentum as the FIA WRC travels to Finland. With five rounds remaining, it is vital to have strong and consistent performances across every day of action to maximise the full potential of the 2024 scoring system.

As one of the fastest rallies on the calendar, it will take accuracy and perfect pace notes for a podium finish at Rally Finland. With its mix of wide and fast gravel roads, combined with technical sections as well as flat-out speeds, its guaranteed to be an exhilarating event. Mistakes can be costly, as the high-speed nature of this event leaves little opportunity to claw back those vital seconds.

Rally Finland has notoriously been one of the most difficult for Hyundai Motorsport in the past, however learnings from two consecutive fast gravel rallies in Poland and Latvia, coupled with good results in recent years, means the team is entering the event with a solid foundation on which to fight for a strong haul of championship points. The team claimed its first podium in 2021, when Tänak and the late Craig Breen secured second and third. The Estonian proved his dominance again in 2022, claiming victory. In 2023 Neuville also made his way onto the podium, just missing out on first place by 39 milliseconds.

The Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team line-up remains unchanged from Rally Latvia. Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe and Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja will once again be joined by Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, with the Finnish duo relishing the opportunity to compete in front of the passionate home crowd.

Hyundai Motorsport President and Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said ahead of the Rally:

“Our aim in Finland is to finish this hat-trick of tricky gravel rallies in as strong a position as possible. We still hold the lead in all three championships but our priority has to be to widen the gap again. Recently, we have performed well in Finland and all three drivers know what it takes to be fast at this demanding rally. We will focus on making the right decisions from the very first day of Finland, as this is what cost us dearly in Latvia. We have plenty of learnings to implement next weekend, and we look forward to taking the fight to Toyota on their home turf. It won’t be easy, as they are bringing an army of five Rally1 cars, so the competition for points will be even tighter than at any other round so far this season.”

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