A challenging weekend for Hyundai Motorsport has ended with Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria in third

Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team has scored its 12th podium of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) season at Rally Chile, where Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria secured a hard-fought third place in demanding conditions.

The result marks the crew’s third podium of the year, adding to their successes in Monaco and Greece. After leading the rally for multiple stages across Friday and Saturday, the Frenchmen slipped to third overall by the end of day two. On Sunday, Fourmaux and Coria delivered a composed drive to secure a well-deserved podium – a meaningful end for the crew, who missed out on second place in Paraguay just two weeks ago.

Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe ended a challenging weekend in fourth. The Belgian duo had to fight their way back up the order on Friday to end the first day in second overall, but a tough Saturday saw them fall out of the podium positions. On Sunday, the crew launched a committed final push on the Power Stage, for which they claimed four additional points for the second-fastest time.

After engine troubles ended their Friday charge, Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja were back on Super Sunday, aiming to salvage bonus points. However, their early road order hampered this push, and they scored one consolation point.

Hyundai Motorsport departs Chile with mixed emotions; while rally-winning potential was once again demonstrated by its crews on Friday, there is disappointment the final result doesn’t reflect that performance. However, with the FIA WRC now returning to tarmac for Central European Rally – an event where the team has secured back-to-back victories – Hyundai Motorsport will now shift focus to delivering a strong result, and reigniting its winning momentum.

Crew Notes: Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (#16 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)

• French duo take third to claim 15 championship points
• Crew was in contention for victory until Saturday struggles

Fourmaux said: “I’m happy to be on the podium after missing out in Paraguay, which was really hard to accept. Overall, I would say it has been two strong rallies in South America for me. We ended Friday in the lead and held it well on Saturday morning, but then the advantage shifted to Toyota. However, we managed to keep a world champion in the same car behind, so I am pleased with that. Of course, there are things we need to improve on the car, but I am confident we will be able to push at the remaining events.”

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#1 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)

• Crew finish in fourth overall
• Belgians scored four additional points on Power Stage

Neuville said: “We survived the day. After three stages, Adrien and I were more or less equal – the gap was pretty steady, and I couldn’t have done much more. I tried a few different settings today that allowed me to push quite well in some places, but the times just weren’t coming. Even though the Power Stage had high grip and was quite abrasive, I knew my tyres weren’t too bad, so I pushed hard. It was a scary run at times, but it paid off!”

Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)

• Estonians claimed one Super Sunday point, remain fourth in championship standings
• Crew led Rally Chile on Friday until engine failure forced retirement

Tänak said: “It has been a long and frustrating weekend here in Chile. Friday was hard, but it was going quite well for us until our rally went off track. Since then, it’s been a difficult couple of days. The last few rallies have been challenging for us, but we are determined to finish the season strongly. As always, we will go into the final three rallies with full commitment; hopefully, we can finish with some strong results.”

Hyundai Motorsport Technical Director François-Xavier Demaison said:

“We came to Chile with big ambitions, but we leave disappointed. The one positive is Adrien’s podium finish; he had a strong rally, but our lack of speed yesterday cost him the win. Thierry showed the car’s potential today, beaten only by Sébastien Ogier in the Power Stage, but overall we didn’t have the performance to match Toyota this weekend. Ott tried his best, but his road position limited his chances and he could only score one point in Super Sunday to end a frustrating event. Despite these setbacks, he remains in the fight for the drivers’ championship. As a team, we must keep pushing, find solutions, and score big points in the final three rallies.”

Next rally

• The FIA WRC returns to Europe for the 12th round of the season, Central European Rally
• The border-crossing event will take place from October 16-19 across Austria, Germany and Czechia