The team faced early misfortune when Thierry Neuville, chasing his first world championship, encountered a technical issue in his car. With only a short tyre service during the day, there was no opportunity to fix the problem, leaving Neuville to limp through the stages. He lost any chance of competing for the top positions. Later, Andreas Mikkelsen crashed into a tree, further compounding Hyundai’s woes.
Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier suffered a puncture early on, and the same issue slowed down Takamoto Katsuta. However, Katsuta managed to remain in contention for top positions, while Elfyn Evans currently holds second place. All of this means that the manufacturers’ championship battle is still alive.
“Of all the scenarios we discussed coming into this event, today was not the scenario we wanted to experience,” Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul admitted.
“Thierry’s day started strongly, and he was putting in a great effort for the team when he suffered a turbo failure. We tried everything we could, but eventually, he had to carry the issue for the rest of the day. We can only apologise to him for what happened—it will be repaired and replaced for tomorrow,” Abiteboul added.
Despite the setbacks, there were positives for Hyundai on Friday, courtesy of Ott Tänak. The Estonian champion found excellent pace throughout the day and leads the rally by over 20 seconds ahead of Elfyn Evans.
“Ott had an excellent drive – very calm yet also very fast – and was in command of the rally for most of the day. Andreas was showing very good pace and was on his way to fulfilling his target when he went off in a very tricky section; we will repair his car for a big push on Sunday,” Abiteboul said.
While the day didn’t go as planned, Abiteboul expressed pride in his team.
“This is not the Friday we wanted, but I must emphasise that I am very proud of the team’s reaction in difficult circumstances, both in the service park and in the cars. It is a mark of absolute professionalism, and I want to believe that this professionalism will be rewarded,” he concluded.
