Fourth WRC Hyundai car “still a chance” for 2025, says Abiteboul

Hyundai returned to form in Portugal but it will postpone any decision to run a fourth car until it is happy with its upgraded World Rally Championship challenger’s performance.

The Korean marque bounced back from its crushing Canary Islands defeat last month by taking the fight to Toyota in Portugal last weekend.

Hyundai appeared to have the edge on Toyota on gravel in what was the upgraded i20 N’s first event on the loose surface this year. Ott Tanak and Adrien Fourmaux topped the standings on Friday before the latter suffered a suspension failure. Tanak won 12 of the 24 stages to finish second but would have most likely won the rally had he avoided a power steering failure on Saturday.

“This weekend has been a return to the form we expect of ourselves. We have been incredibly competitive throughout the event, with Ott expertly spearheading the charge. He has been impeccable, leading for 15 stages and taking 12 wins; he was the man to beat out there,” said Hyundai Motorsport president and team principal Cyril Abiteboul.

“We regret that Ott’s reliability issue has handed the victory to Toyota, but everyone in the team should be proud of their efforts this weekend.”

Hyundai has toyed with the prospect of running a fourth car and it appears there is still a chance it could decide to run an extra car, in addition to its three 2025 full-time entries driven by world champion Thierry Neuville, Tanak and Fourmaux.

This year Hyundai has come up against an expanded Toyota line-up that has seen the Japanese brand field five cars in three of the five events to date. Sami Pajari isn’t contributing to Toyota’s manufacturer points but part-time driver Sebastien Ogier has been registered to score in his three rounds to date, helping the marque move into a 55-point lead in the manufacturers’ standings.

Abiteboul has refused to rule out adding an extra Rally1 car this year for long-term Hyundai servant Dani Sordo, who is competing for Hyundai Portugal in the Portuguese national championship. Sordo was present at last weekend’s Rally Portugal which also acted as a round for the national series.

Sordo’s most recent WRC Rally1 return was last year’s Acropolis Rally, where the 42-year-old finished second behind Neuville. There had been suggestions Sordo could have made a return in Sardinia next month although his name was absent from the entry list.

“There is still a chance for a fourth car,” said Abiteboul during Rally Portugal.

“The Canary Islands has been a shock to the system and when there is a shock to the system what you need to do is regroup and think and put on standby some of the action we had planned, and in particular think about the best way to use the financial resources you have available.

“Running a fourth car needs more resources in terms of staff, financial resources and logistics. After Canary Islands, was running a fourth car the best way to use resources, maybe, maybe not?

Cyril Abiteboul, Team principal Hyundai World Rally Team

Photo by: Vincent Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport

“In any case we are postponing that decision until we have a bit of a clearer idea because, frankly, if you enter four uncompetitive cars it doesn’t help your case.

“The first thing is to understand our competitiveness level and anything we can do in the short term to make it better. Then if you have the confidence, you can play tactics with a fourth car.

“There is also the case that obviously with more cars you have more test days coming and therefore learn more about the Hankook tyres.

“We thought about that, but it is an expensive way to get access to more information about the tyres. We like to think we can get to the same result in a different way.”