Toyota and Hyundai in a thrilling battle – “They are bringing their five-car army!”

Hyundai's WRC team has seen its lead in the manufacturers' championship narrow as Toyota closed the gap in the last event.
Cyril Abiteboul
Cyril Abiteboul. Photo by: Hyundai Motorsport
Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on whatsapp

The Korean brand led the series for a long time and still leads, but Toyota has risen to just one point behind. This week, Toyota faces its home rally on the gravel roads of Central Finland, so the atmosphere in the Hyundai camp is serious.

With the current points system in the World Rally Championship, it’s difficult to create large gaps, but in Rally Latvia, Toyota scored nine points more than Hyundai. If Toyota manages to repeat this feat in its home rally, Hyundai will be in a tough spot, as there are only four races left after the Finnish event.

“Our aim in Finland is to finish this hat-trick of tricky gravel rallies in as strong a position as possible. We still hold the lead in all three championships but our priority has to be to widen the gap again,” Abiteboul boasts.

“Recently, we have performed well in Finland and all three drivers know what it takes to be fast at this demanding rally.”

Abiteboul emphasises that the team must be alert right from the start. In Latvia, Hyundai’s drivers did not perform at their best on Friday, which made the rest of the rally difficult.

“We will focus on making the right decisions from the very first day of Finland, as this is what cost us dearly in Latvia. We have plenty of learnings to implement, and we look forward to taking the fight to Toyota on their home turf,” Abiteboul summarises.

“It won’t be easy, as they are bringing an army of five Rally1 cars, so the competition for points will be even tighter than at any other round so far this season.”

Rally Finland begins on Thursday. There will be a total of 20 special stages, covering approximately 305 kilometres. The rally concludes on Sunday.

Also check out