A monumental effort from Lappi ensured a 20-point extension in Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team’s manufacturers’ lead

Hyundai Motorsport has completed a rollercoaster weekend at Rally Finland, round nine of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), with another podium to add to its tally and an extension of its lead in the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships.

A solid drive from Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe allowed the Belgians to maintain their provisional third place across Sunday’s first two stages – finishing in sixth on SS17 Sahloinen-Moksi 1 and third on SS18 Laajavuori.

Retirements for both Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanperä on the second loop of Sahloinen-Moksi meant Neuville could jump into second overall. A storming performance on the Power Stage, SS20 Laajavuori 2, cemented his podium finish and extended his drivers’ championship lead to 168 points, a 27-point lead over closest rival Ogier.

An overall frustrating weekend for Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm drew to a close with redemption in the form of Super Sunday. The Finns claimed maximum points in aid of Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team’s manufacturers’ championship charge on the final day – ensuring the Korean outfit would remain the leader with 395 points, 20 points clear of Toyota.

Five top three stage times and a stage win on SS15 Päijälä 2 reflected the confidence and pace the #4 crew had built in the car across the weekend – their fourth contention thus far in the 2024 FIA WRC season.

An unpredictable weekend in the final of three back-to-back high-speed gravel rallies demonstrated the hard work and resilience of the team – never giving up in the face of adversity.

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)

• Belgian extends lead of drivers’ championship after solid running all weekend
• Second-place finish and Power Stage efforts see 23 points added to tally

Neuville said: “A good, consistent drive throughout the day. Our increase in tempo on the last two stages made the difference with the retirement of Kalle. We were capable of reducing the gap on the Power Stage so Ogier would only leave Finland with one more point than us. This weekend has been a rollercoaster of emotions for everybody, like the stages. Lots of ups and downs and it was changing all the time. Greece is next – and it’s a challenging event. We will be on it and with a shift of focus to this surface we are hoping to take what we have done at these fast gravel rallies one step further.”

Crew Notes: Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (#4 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)

• Maximum Super Sunday points secured on crew’s fourth event of 2024
• Strong pace demonstrated proves promising for remainder of their season

Lappi said: “When you retire from any rally you are disappointed, but Finland was the most important one for me personally. These risks are a part of motorsport, when you are constantly pushing the limit: you don’t do anything wrong and then you end up retiring. It was similar for Kalle today and I really felt for him, it’s a big shame. Today we did what we could, we brought home a good amount of Super Sunday points for the team so I am very satisfied with how the day went.”

Hyundai Motorsport President and Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said:

“We were obviously quite anxious coming into Finland, Toyota’s home event, their five cars and their excellent preparation here. It was, as we expected, a challenge and we were clearly on the backfoot for the weekend from the very start, and things went from bad to worse with the loss of Ott and Martin’s car. The rest of the weekend was looking like it was going to be very difficult for us to come away with anything positive, but we managed to stay focused, play the long game and work with setups to try and mitigate our loss with the Sunday points. Today’s circumstances clearly helped, but we managed to give Thierry and EP what they needed to put the pressure on their opponents. We came away extending our lead in all three championships. The summer break is very welcomed, and we look forward to the last part of the season to try and consolidate these positions.”

Next rally

• The FIA WRC season will return in four weeks with the legendary Acropolis Rally Greece (September 5-8).