This time, however, taking all conditions into account, the team came away from Kenya with a strong result and a healthy points haul in the manufacturers’ championship, thanks to Ott Tänak’s second place and Thierry Neuville’s third.
Adrien Fourmaux, who was forced to retire early in the rally, still managed to contribute to the team’s success. The Frenchman was the fastest driver on Super Sunday and picked up ten valuable WRC points.
Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul was relieved – and arguably somewhat surprised – by the unexpectedly strong result after the Safari.
“Certain podiums feel like wins and this is certainly the case today,” said Abiteboul.
Hyundai has never managed to win the iconic Safari Rally, which returned to the WRC calendar four years ago. Prior to last weekend’s event, the team’s best result in Kenya had been a single third-place finish.
“While we have seen that we still have some reliability issues we need to overcome, we can be very satisfied with the overall result here at Safari Rally Kenya. This is the reward for our very strong pace on Friday and Saturday, and for the amazing work and team spirit demonstrated by everyone at Hyundai Motorsport in very challenging circumstances,” Abiteboul continued.
Hyundai closed the gap to Toyota in the manufacturers’ title fight in Kenya. While Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä and Takamoto Katsuta were forced to retire, Tänak and Neuville ultimately avoided the worst of the problems. Rally winner Elfyn Evans, however, has already built a solid lead in the drivers’ standings.
Neuville and Tänak currently sit just behind him in the championship table, but the gap to Evans has already grown to nearly 40 points. Team boss Abiteboul made it clear that Hyundai must work hard to prevent Evans from running away with the title.
“While the result reduces our gap to Toyota in the manufacturers’ standings, we must now give Thierry and Ott everything they need to challenge Elfyn, who is enjoying a very strong start to the season,” Abiteboul said.
Adrien Fourmaux also earned the team principal’s praise.
“Adrien did exactly what he needed to do on Sunday, putting himself in a strong position amongst a group of very competitive drivers,” Abiteboul noted.
The next round of the WRC season will be held in the Canary Islands at the end of April.
