In the World Rally Championship (WRC), Hyundai has strong positions in two key positions with Francois-Xavier Demaison and Cyril Abiteboul. Thierry Neuville wants to attack in 2024.
“Every year it looks good, but then it ends badly,” jokes Thierry Neuville, who competes for Hyundai in the World Rally Championship (WRC), in an interview with “Dirtfish.com”.
Nevertheless, the Belgian, who has been fighting for the world title with the Koreans since 2014, believes in a breakthrough in the 2024 season as the key positions at the brand are well filled. With team boss Cyril Abiteboul and engineer Francois-Xavier Demaison, both of whom have Formula 1 experience, things are looking up for Hyundai.
“I’ve never had as much trust in the key people as I do today,” says the 35-year-old, who came second overall five times in his career – four times with Hyundai.
“Cyril is getting to know the WRC in his position, and that’s why we definitely want to attack next year. Working with Francois-Xavier and Christian Loriaux [Technischer Berater von Hyundai] “It’s going very well.” Neuville believes that Hyundai has been ready for the big WRC title for a long time, but even Ott Tänak, who will drive for M-Sport-Ford in 2023 and will return to Hyundai in 2024, has not yet been able to bring the title to South Korea .
World Rally Championship: Hyundai star expects hot fight for WRC title
The Estonian won the 2019 World Championship, but at that time he was still with Toyota. Since then, the Japanese have dominated the series and won five drivers’ titles.
Before that, Ford, Volkswagen and Citroen were the top dogs in the WRC, Hyundai has been waiting for its first overall victory since joining in 2014 – despite top material and top drivers. In the 2024 season it’s “now or never” for the brand, at least says Neuville, who wants to shake up the World Cup together with the returnee Tänak.
Most recently, Neuville created momentum and a good atmosphere at Hyundai with his victory in the Central Europe Rally. But the experienced Belgian warns against too much euphoria, because “every season starts from zero” and the results of 2023 would therefore not mean much. In any case, Neuville expects a hot battle in 2024, not only with Toyota but also with his new old teammate Tänak.
“It’s always a give and take, because because of the rules, the positions and the starting grid, there will never be big gaps,” Neuville is sure.
Hyundai started the 2023 season weakly and had to wait until the Rally Italy – the sixth round of the year – for its first victory. Since then, Neuville has celebrated two victories, the championship went early to Kalle Rovanperä, who successfully defended his title before the final in Japan.