Although the teams are separated by only 13 points in the manufacturers’ standings, Hyundai has been able to dominate particularly on Sunday race days. The victories are tied at 3-3, but Hyundai drivers have taken better advantage of the new points system and created a gap during Super Sundays.
Despite the upcoming three fast gravel rallies, which have typically been Toyota’s stronghold, Hyundai’s crews are confident. The testing area in Jämsä, Central Finland, has brought additional speed on gravel.
“Following a run of success at the previous few rallies, we have a lot of positive momentum with us as we turn our attentions to Poland. It’s a very fast gravel event and we know this is a preferred surface for our competitors at Toyota, so we are approaching this event as the challengers,” Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul notes.
“We are still in the lead of all three championships and our line-up for this event now has two crews with wins this season, so we are excited to see if the car has made similar improvements on this surface as it has on others.”
Among Hyundai drivers, Thierry Neuville and Andreas Mikkelsen have won in Poland, but the last race was in 2017, and much has changed since then. Hyundai’s Estonian star Ott Tänak has also been on the podium twice in Poland.
Mikkelsen’s selection for Poland was a bit of a surprise, as the roster also included the Finnish driver Esapekka Lappi, who excels on fast gravel surfaces.
“Rally Poland hasn’t been on the WRC calendar since 2017, but Andreas has some more recent experience here in ERC rounds, so he will be an invaluable asset when it comes to bringing knowledge to the team,” Abiteboul explains.
The last time Mikkelsen drove the Rally Poland was during his ERC championship year in 2021. Nevertheless, Hyundai’s top guns in Poland will undoubtedly be Tänak and Neuville.
“Past success for Thierry and Ott, including a win, gives us further confidence. We hope to bring back a good number of points to help us maintain our championship leads,” Abiteboul concludes.
The Rally Poland starts on Thursday evening with a super special stage in the centre of Mikolajki. The rally features a total of 19 special stages, covering over 300 kilometres.
