Last year, Suninen got a taste of the main WRC class, driving a Hyundai’s Rally1 car. The Finn competed in four WRC rallies and was close to a podium finish in Chile, where he ultimately crashed out from second place on the final day.
It was almost certain within Suninen’s camp that he would get to drive Hyundai’s Rally1 car in selected rallies for the 2024 season as well. However, things took a different turn. Hyundai decided to hire Ott Tänak, and the team’s third car went to Esapekka Lappi, Andreas Mikkelsen, and Dani Sordo, who shared driving duties.
Suninen has a five-race agenda planned with the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 car within the WRC2 class. He is set to start his season at the Rally Portugal in May.
The Finn aims to demonstrate that he has earned a spot from the main class side.
“Maybe I’m still showing loyalty and maybe there is still a good chance to get a seat from Hyundai, because there is not so many options or free seats available,” Suninen told RallySport Magazine in an interview.
“But I have shown good progress that if I get a bit of seat time I can drive to the podiums and then who knows if I could have been able to win after some more rounds.”
Suninen has competed in 84 WRC rallies, half of them in the main class. This year, he seeks momentum from the second class, a challenging but not impossible task to return to the top level.
This was recently demonstrated by current Hyundai driver Mikkelsen, who spent several years in the WRC2 class before earning a factory team spot. Suninen aims to do the same.
“The plan is to do as well as possible and try to improve the car, try to prove that I am worth taking to Rally1,” Suninen said.
“Then I think that’s all that I can do.”
