Review: Round 14 – Rally Saudi Arabia
Hyundai Motorsport has finished the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC)
season with a dazzling double podium at Rally Saudi Arabia, with Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe securing their first win of the season and Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria claiming second.
Three stages covered the final 65.86km of competitive action in 2025. Two loops of Thahban (SS15/17, 16.29km) were separated by one attempt of the event’s longest stage, Asfan (SS16, 33.28km).
Neuville and Wydaeghe were unleashed on the last day of Rally Saudi Arabia, starting Saturday just 3.4
seconds away from the rally lead. A stellar effort from the Belgians meant they were able to finish SS15
as the third fastest, and went on to assume first place. The crew then took it one step further on the
following stage, clinching one final top-three stage time of the year and consolidated their position as
leaders as their closest rivals succumbed to two punctures. A considered approach on the Power Stage
ensured the duo would secure the win, and they finished with a gap of 54.7 seconds to the rest of the
field. The crew’s victory is a brilliant recovery from their setbacks on the first day and perfectly
demonstrates their unrelenting determination, generating plenty of positive momentum for them to
carry into 2026.
Erstwhile rally leaders Fourmaux and Coria, who started in fourth due to yesterday’s time penalty,
demonstrated exemplary attitude and speed on Saturday’s stages, immediately setting the fastest time
on the day’s opening test. With Mārtiņš Sesks and Takamoto Katsuta facing issues on SS16, the duo were
promoted to second with just one more stage left to face. Similarly to their Belgian team-mates, the
crew took heed on the final test to secure their fourth podium of the year. The Frenchmen’s fantastic
efforts across the whole weekend are a fitting end to their first season in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1,
resulting in a well-deserved double podium for the team.
Estonians Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja struggled with grip on the first loop of Thahban, running wide
at a junction approximately 15km into the stage. The duo had a fairly trouble-free run through the longest
stage of the weekend, SS16, and pushed to claim one final top-three stage time on the Power Stage –
finishing in third. Hyundai Motorsport once again extends its thanks to both Ott Tänak and Martin
Järveoja, and wishes them well on the next steps in their adventures away from the world of the WRC.
Rally Saudi Arabia was a positive end to a frustrating year for Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team, but
with 15 podiums, two victories and plenty of learnings, the team is determined to come back stronger in
2026 at Rallye Monte-Carlo in January.
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#1 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
- Belgians clinched first victory of 2025 at final round
- Crew clinched six top-three stage times in Saudi Arabia
Neuville said: “It’s been a long wait since the last victory, but it’s good to be back on the top step,
especially at the end of the season after a tough year. We’re super happy, and of course getting the 1-2 is
very important for the team – they have all been working hard. The next few weeks are the most important to help us be contenders again in 2026. We need to bring some more upgrades and improvements to the
car as well as develop the structure within the team. We have learnt a lot about the evolution of the car
recently, and now we need to push to put those learnings into performance.”
Crew Notes: Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (#16 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
- Fourmaux/Coria secured first-ever WRC second place
- Crew claimed four podiums in debut year with Hyundai Motorsport
Fourmaux said: “If you remove our penalty, I’m really pleased with how we managed this rally. We made
the decision to take softs at the beginning, against the decision of the others, and we made the right
choice in doing that. We were managing the pressure of the others catching up with us, and I’m really
pleased we were able to and have that self-control inside of the car. We are the unofficial winners! The
speed is there, the management is there and so is the reliability for us, so these are the things I need to
keep up my motivation for next year – there is no reason to doubt the steps we have taken forward this
year.”
Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
- Estonians claimed five stage wins at Rally Saudi Arabia
- Tänak/Järveoja finished third on Power Stage
Tänak said: “Today wasn’t the greatest day to open the road. It’s been demanding, but we still tried to have
good rhythm and drive. These cars are some of the best things in motorsport at the moment, they’re really
fun to drive and I’m sure really fun to watch from the outside too. I tried to enjoy this today, and I really
enjoyed it. Let’s see what the future brings. I don’t know how much things are going to change but let’s
see what the sport does and where it goes. I’m not turning my back on rallying, it’s given me so much and
I’m very grateful for that.”
Hyundai Motorsport WRC Sporting Director Andrew Wheatley said:
What a fantastic end to a really challenging week for the team. It’s been a difficult rally, but a really positive end to the season for Hyundai Motorsport. It’s been a massive team effort from everybody back at base and here on the rally, who have all gone above and beyond lately to create the result we have seen today. We saw a typically professional drive from Thierry and Martijn today; they pushed through some very difficult conditions with incredible poise and commitment. It was also an incredible result from Adrien and Alex, they pushed their teammates to the final stage and I’m sure we’ll see that first win come in the near future. The final word has to go out to Ott and Martin – they’ve done a phenomenal job with the team. We couldn’t get the final result we wanted with everyone this weekend, but right to the last stage they demonstrated their professionalism and support in creating the team spirit we need to continue securing more results like these.
Next rally
• The 2026 FIA WRC season will kick off with Rallye Monte-Carlo, taking place from January 22-25.
