Hyundai announced that Christian Loriaux, the team’s WRC Program Manager, is leaving Hyundai Motorsport. Loriaux has been a key figure within the team in recent years.
Previously a long-serving technical director at M-Sport, Loriaux was later recruited by Hyundai. According to Hyundai’s statement, Loriaux is now moving on to new challenges.
“We would like to thank Christian Loriaux for his contribution to our mission over the past three years. He has been a great support personally when I joined the world of rally,” said Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul.
“We wish him all the best with his future endeavours.”
Loriaux’s responsibilities will now be handled by the technical department led by François-Xavier Demaison.
Hyundai also announced that Pablo Marcos will return to the role of Team Manager. Marcos will oversee the team’s sporting and performance development as well as the operations of three Hyundai i20 N Rally1 cars.
Additionally, Tolga Ozakinci will take on the newly established role of Head of Race Operations. Both Ozakinci and Marcos will report directly to Cyril Abiteboul, who, alongside his role as team principal, also serves as president of Hyundai Motorsport.
“Hyundai Motorsport is enjoying a well-deserved break from competition, however – as is often the case at this time of year – we are making some key changes within the company to support our 2025 push and adapt to our environment,” Abiteboul explained.
“We had a very strong 2024 season but didn’t achieve everything we set out to do, so looking ahead to a transformative year for our motorsport operations we have spent time considering how we can streamline our organization.”
Hyundai achieved its first-ever drivers’ championship last season, with Thierry Neuville securing the WRC title. However, the team narrowly lost the manufacturers’ championship battle to Toyota.
