Toyota expects Hyundai to bounce back and challenge for the World Rally Championship title this season, according to team principal Jari-Matti Latvala.
After defeating Hyundai to score a ninth WRC manufacturers’ title last year, Toyota has continued its domination of the championship in 2026, recording back-to-back podium lockouts in the opening two rounds of the season in Monte Carlo and Sweden.
Toyota will once again be regarded as the favourite to continue its 100% winning start to the year at Safari Rally Kenya this week, where the brand is yet to be beaten since the rally rejoined the championship in 2021.
Toyota has taken an impressive step forward with its already dominant GR Yaris this season; this coincides with Hyundai struggling to extract consistent performance from its i20 N Rally1, which has also undergone upgrades during the off-season.
Hyundai’s performance in the opening two rounds this year has come as a surprise to Toyota, but Latvala fully expects the Korean marque to react and push his team during the season.
Speaking to Autosport, Hyundai sporting director Andrew Wheatley has already confirmed that the team is planning to introduce further upgrades to its i20 N Rally1 car next month when the championship returns to asphalt in Croatia.
Asked if he expected Hyundai to make a comeback in Kenya this weekend, Latvala told Autosport: “I was expecting they would be closer, but in Monte and Sweden they have been struggling, so l’m expecting that they will come back and be at a very close level to us, but ‘can they catch up by Kenya’ is a question mark.
Sami Pajari, Marko Salminen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Toyota Racing
“Kenya hasn’t been a strong event for them in the past and it is not an event that is necessarily for them, but afterwards there are events where they feel more comfortable, let’s say it this way. Time is running quickly in the championship and if you want to be in the game you need to react quickly.
“But Kenya is an event where you don’t necessarily have the performance, you just need to have the reliability and the drivers to be sensible, and that also can bring good results.”
Hyundai achieved its best display yet in Kenya last year when it recorded a double podium result with Ott Tanak and Thierry Neuville finishing second and third respectively behind Toyota’s Elfyn Evans.
Toyota will field five cars to Hyundai’s three in Kenya with championship leader Evans joined by Monte Carlo winner Oliver Solberg and full-time regulars Takamoto Katsuta and Sami Pajari. The line-up is completed by reigning champion Sebastien Ogier, who continues his partial programme after sitting out Rally Sweden last month. Ogier last contested the event in 2023 when he took his second Safari win, alongside a triumph in 2021.
The 20-stage Safari Rally Kenya begins on Thursday.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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