Despite showing promising pace in a handful of top-tier outings the previous year with Hyundai’s Rally1 car, Suninen did not secure a full-time seat in the premier class for the following season.
Instead, the 31-year-old competed in the WRC2 category. However, the Hyundai machinery fell far short of the level required to be competitive in the fiercely contested second tier. As a result, the season proved to be extremely challenging, marked by poor results and technical issues.
“I don’t know if it really needs much explaining,” Suninen said in an interview with RallyJournal.com.
“The year before, we had some good results in the Rally1 car and were able to fight for top-three finishes in strong events. But once the calendar turned, those good results didn’t come anymore,” he continued.
Suninen remains tight-lipped about the full details behind the struggles – and perhaps there’s no need to elaborate further.
“I think it’s pretty clear what caused it,” he said.
In the 2023 season, Suninen contested four events in Hyundai’s Rally1 car. His performance showed steady improvement: he finished fifth in Estonia, fourth in Finland, and was in contention for a top result in Chile before a crash on the final day ended his hopes. He wrapped up his Rally1 campaign with sixth place at the Central European Rally.
“It was a nice season. I got to know the car better and was able to properly get into the rhythm and deliver strong results. But of course, the ending was a bit unfortunate,” Suninen recalled.
Naturally, Suninen – like many others – expected that his strong performances would be rewarded. But Hyundai had a different view. The team opted to rotate Andreas Mikkelsen and Esapekka Lappi in the third car. Veteran driver Dani Sordo also shared outings in the same role.
The strategy didn’t yield great results. The rotation meant long gaps between events for each driver. Lappi won the 2024 Rally Sweden, but otherwise had a tough season. Mikkelsen’s campaign was also far from convincing.
Suninen is candid in admitting that being left out of the top category for the 2024 season was one of the biggest disappointments of his career.
“We were delivering what the team asked of us in every event. Then we also showed that we could step up the pace when needed and were meeting the targets,” Suninen reflected.
“It definitely left a bitter taste. Then they were looking for a tarmac specialist – I can still understand that decision. But not all of the driver choices made sense to me, and I don’t think anyone who really understands this sport could fully explain them either,” he said bluntly.
Hyundai never provided a clear explanation for its decisions. Suninen can only speculate on what might have influenced the team bosses.
“I suppose the team leaders thought that EP (Esapekka Lappi) and I are quite similar as drivers, and they already had someone like that. That was probably the reasoning behind it. Of course, EP had that win in Sweden, and a victory always carries weight in these decisions. But that’s how it went. I think it’s fairly obvious what happened,” Suninen concluded.
