The struggle between Toyota and Hyundai in the World Rally Championship has turned on its head since the beginning of the season.
Ott Tänak and map reader Martin Järveoja have recovered from the rest of the season. mvphotos/zumawire.com
In the first half of the season, Toyota was superior against Hyundai and M-Sport Ford. The team, which has its headquarters in Jyväskylä, marched to victory in one race after another Kalle Rovanperän in the lead and at the same time pulled a noticeable neck to his competitors in the manufacturers’ World Series.
Hyundai saw its first glimmer of light at June’s World Rally Championship in Sardinia, where the victory was taken by the team’s Estonian star Ott Tänak. After that, Rovanperä drove first in Kenya and Estonia, but after the fast gravel race in Estonia, Toyota has not been able to celebrate the victory.
Tänak was number one in Finland and Belgium. Last weekend’s World Rally Championship in Greece was by Thierry Neuville turn to drive to victory before his teammates Tänak and Dani Sordoa.
After difficulties at the beginning of the season, Hyundai has been able to take Toyota by the neck in the last races.
– There was no reason why we couldn’t close the gap. It was just a question of when it would happen. But I also didn’t expect that we would get back into the game so quickly, because we were quite far away and test days are limited, Hyundai interim team manager Julien Moncet admitted.
Toyota is still tied for this season’s brand championship, but Hyundai intends to keep the fight going.
– Toyota had a bad weekend, but they have had several good weekends. We must not have bad weekends in the next races, because otherwise our game is played. The battle is still on, but we have to be on our guard, Moncet said.
Lash
Hyundai has won three consecutive World Cup races. Moncet emphasized that the team must not be lulled into the situation, but must work hard between the games.
At the same time, Moncet threw a small spike Jari-Matti Latvala in the direction of Toyota.
– We have improved the reliability of the car perhaps more than any other area. Toyota has been reliable, but now we saw how easy it is to fall from the top to the top of the tail, Moncet shot.
– I hope it doesn’t turn out that way for us. My most important task is to make sure that doesn’t happen, the French boss added.
There will be three more races this season. The next WC rally is scheduled for September-October in New Zealand.