Hyundai call set to boost Tanak’s WRC title bid   

Hyundai has announced that Ott Tanak will no longer score manufacturer points for the team this year in a move that appears set to boost his World Rally Championship title hopes.    

Tanak’s title bid was dealt a blow in Chile earlier this month when he suffered an engine failure while leading the rally. After fitting a spare engine, Tanak reported that it was also down on power and overheating, revealing that the unit developed a problem when it was previously used in February’s Rally Sweden. 

Under the WRC sporting regulations, manufacturer entries are only allocated two engines per car name to complete the season. Any further engines brought into the pool will come at the cost of a five-minute penalty to be taken at the next rally.  

As engines are allocated to chassis names rather than drivers, Hyundai did have the option to rotate its drivers through its three cars, which could have afforded Tanak the opportunity to utilise a fresher engine. It would have meant that one driver would have incurred a five-minute penalty.   

However, Hyundai has taken a different approach nominating only Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux as manufacturer points scorers for the final three rallies beginning with next month’s Central European Rally before visits to Japan and Saudi Arabia. Hyundai is already 125 points behind rivals Toyota in the constructors’ title race.    

“For the final three rounds of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship season, Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team will only nominate Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux for manufacturers’ points,” read a statement from Hyundai.  

“This strategic decision allows Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja to compete without manufacturer nomination and by taking full advantage of the sporting regulations, the team is ensuring Tanak and Jarveoja are in the strongest possible position to continue their fight for the drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles.” 

It would appear that this call means that the sporting regulations regarding engines will no longer apply to Tanak, who is not deemed a manufacturer entry. In theory he could take an extra engine without incurring a penalty at CER.  

Tanak is Hyundai’s best chance at securing a title this year, although the 2019 world champion is 43 points behind championship leader Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier.