Thierry Neuville secured a win for Hyundai in the opening rally of the year in Monte Carlo, and last week in Sweden, Esapekka Lappi celebrated a first-place finish.
However, Toyota has effectively utilized the new points system of the WRC. Despite its two victories, Hyundai is tied in the manufacturers’ standings with the Japanese brand.
“We find ourselves on the unfortunate side of history today, but we aimed for more competitive Sundays and a championship overall. I think it’s good for the sport. The points system is complex, undoubtedly more so from an outside perspective,” said Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul on the Belgian RTBF channel’s website.
“I’m convinced that this championship will be decided by the details. We cannot afford to score zero in a rally.”
In Sweden, Toyota dominated Sunday, with Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanperä immediately pulling away in the opening stage. The same duo also took a narrow one-two finish on the Power Stage ahead of Neuville.
“We need to understand our performance in Sunday’s first stage. We all took a hit, including (Ott) Tänak. There must have been something off with our settings because, despite pushing to the limit, we lost a lot,” Abiteboul wonders.
“Thierry had another solid weekend, without any mistakes. Both he and we must be convinced that we can’t afford to come to a rally telling ourselves that this isn’t a rally for us. We need to put the same commitment into every event.”
On the opening stage in Västervik on Sunday of Rally Sweden, Rovanperä set the pace with a commanding fastest time, 6.3 seconds ahead of Evans. Tänak was more than 14 seconds off the pace, and Neuville trailed by a 19.7 seconds.
The WRC continues at the end of March in Kenya.
