Hyundai’s 2025 WRC Challenger Shows Promise Despite Early Challenges
Thierry Neuville, the reigning world champion in the World Rally Championship (WRC), believes that Hyundai’s upgraded 2025 car has significant potential, even though it hasn’t fully realized its speed this season. Despite some struggles in unlocking the car’s performance, Neuville remains optimistic about the team’s progress.
After the Rally Chile, Neuville admitted he was concerned about the gap between Hyundai and Toyota. He revealed that the team tried several set-ups with the 2025-spec i20 N but wasn’t able to achieve the optimal pace. This isn’t the first time Hyundai has faced challenges with its upgraded car. In April, the team struggled against Toyota during the Canary Islands event when the car was tested on asphalt for the first time after using the 2024 model for the season-opening Monte Carlo round.
Team-mate Adrien Fourmaux suggested after Chile that Hyundai should conduct a back-to-back test between its 2024 and 2025 cars to determine which is faster before the upcoming Central European Rally (CER). Since Chile, Hyundai has been actively working to understand the 2025 car better and prepare for CER. Neuville participated in the East Belgian Rally before a pre-event test day, while Fourmaux competed in the European Rally Championship round in Croatia and is set to take part in the Herbst Rallye in Austria.
Ott Tanak has also been testing the car, contributing to the team’s efforts. Neuville said his experience in Belgium provided “interesting conclusions” from the extra mileage completed, and he is confident that the 2025 car will deliver results.
“For me, the 2025 car has much more potential than the 2024 car, and I think we just didn’t [get] the best out of the car,” said Neuville.
“We know we have some room for improvement and we have detected some areas for improvement, and hopefully those areas can be quickly solved. To be in the right in the window is a bit of a change compared to the 2024 car, but maybe we haven’t found the right perfect window yet, at least for the last asphalt event. Hopefully now we are working better. There is room for improvement in terms of set-ups and the windows for where the car is working. We still need a bit more driving, but I think we have made some progress and we know where we can make some progress.”
Looking Ahead to the Central European Rally
Neuville is looking forward to next week’s Central European Rally, an event he won in 2023. However, he acknowledges that it is difficult to predict how the team will perform against Toyota.
“I think we don’t know how we will compare [to the Toyotas], so we will have to find out,” he added. “We will only see after a couple of stages; the event will be weather-related, and obviously our road position is not great, so it is not a big help if it is raining.”
Key Takeaways from the 2025 Car Development
- Potential for Improvement: Neuville believes the 2025 car has more potential than the 2024 model, indicating that the team is on the right track.
- Testing and Adjustments: The team has conducted various tests and is working on refining the car’s set-ups to improve performance.
- Challenges with Asphalt: The 2025 car has faced difficulties on asphalt surfaces, particularly in events like the Canary Islands and Rally Chile.
- Team Collaboration: Both Neuville and Fourmaux are actively involved in testing and providing feedback to help the team make necessary adjustments.
Future Prospects
With the Central European Rally approaching, the focus is on how well the 2025 car performs under different conditions. Neuville’s confidence in the car’s potential suggests that the team is making progress, even if there are still areas to improve. As the season continues, the team will need to address these challenges to compete effectively against strong rivals like Toyota.
The coming weeks will be crucial for Hyundai as they aim to unlock the full potential of their 2025 WRC challenger and secure strong results in the remaining events of the season.
