For Tänak, the rally is his last – at least for the time being – with Hyundai, as he announced earlier this month that he is stepping away from full-time rallying in the World Championship. The length of the Estonian’s sabbatical is unknown, but he will be taking more or less a breather for the 2026 season.
The key factor behind the Hyundai driver’s decision was the Korean manufacturer’s poor performance compared with arch-rival Toyota. It is known that Tänak also enquired about a seat at Toyota, but as all the places were already taken, he made his big decision.
The brand-new Rally Saudi Arabia is expected to pose a major challenge for the cars, as the special stages are likely to be in very rough condition. Tänak claimed his only victory of the season – which is also Hyundai’s sole win of the year – at Rally Greece at the end of June. Greece is also contested in harsh conditions, which offers a glimmer of hope for Tänak.
“We are going into the unknown with Rally Saudi Arabia, so we will have to go there and discover what the event has to offer. We will be back in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 evo for the event, a car which has performed especially well on rough gravel,” Tänak says.
“We don’t know exactly what to expect from the rough gravel in Saudi Arabia, but the team has been strong in these sort of conditions in the past.”
While Tänak and fellow Hyundai star Thierry Neuville have spent recent rallies mostly venting their frustration, Frenchman Adrien Fourmaux has been performing considerably better. However, what looked like a certain podium in the previous round in Japan turned into a frustrating retirement after going off the road on the final day.
Even so, Fourmaux’s confidence remains sky-high. A brand-new rally also levels the playing field in terms of experience, so Fourmaux is hoping for a strong result in the final round of the season.
“I really enjoy brand-new events because all crews go into it with the same level of experience – and so it becomes all about pacenotes. We’re expecting it to be a very rough event with a lot of sand and rocks, but then also quite fast and soft in certain places, making it hard to find the perfect setup,” Fourmaux sums up.
“It’s going to be warm for us inside the car, and we’ll have to manage our tyres well. I would love to finish the season on a high. We have done well in terms of performance, but this hasn’t been reflected in our results. It would be really nice to clinch our first victory at the final round of the season.”
