Hyundai Motorsport is celebrating its first victory and second double podium of the year

Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team’s Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja have claimed their long-awaited first victory of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship season in spectacular fashion at Acropolis Rally. Team-mates Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria confirmed a well-earned third place to bring home the team’s second double podium of the year so far.

Sunday’s itinerary forced crews into unfamiliar territory, while also welcoming back some that they knew very well. Two loops of the brand-new Smokovo (SS14/16, 26.16km) and the unforgiving Tarzan (SS15/17, 23.37km) formed the final day’s tests.

Tänak barely faltered across the entire weekend, and his Sunday efforts were no different. The Estonian headed into the final day with a 43.6 second advantage over the rest of the field. A pitch-perfect performance on the morning loop saw Tänak power to two stage wins in his Hyundai i20 N Rally1, as well as the top of the Super Sunday standings, however Acropolis Rally is never plain sailing.

A gearbox issue emerged on the Power Stage, forcing the Estonian to carefully manage the final test of the day in a nail-biting finish to what had been a dominant run to his first victory of 2025. Tänak departs Greece having scored eight stage wins and moved up to third in the drivers’ standings, a mere 12 points away from the top spot.

A considered performance from Fourmaux allowed the Frenchman to consolidate his second podium finish of the season for Hyundai Motorsport. There were no issues for him as he carefully navigated Sunday’s stages, remaining unphased even when dropping time across the morning loop. His third-place finish marks the best result for the Frenchman since Rallye Monte-Carlo, adding another 17 points to his championship tally and signalling a return to form after a disappointing Rally Italia Sardegna.

Having seen punctures deflate their first two days of competition, Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe were on a mission for a redemptive Super Sunday. A valiant effort on SS14 was hampered by a broken damper on SS15, but the Belgians returned determined to mount the strongest attack possible across the afternoon’s tests. Disaster struck on the penultimate stage, when Neuville encountered an electrical issue and lost over a minute. Neuville came back on Tarzan to claim an additional three Power Stage points and maintain his fifth-place spot in the championship.

WRC action returns in the Baltics, where Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team will contest Tänak’s home event: Rally Estonia.

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

• Crew claims first win of 2025 at one of the WRC’s most testing events
• Estonians move up to third in the championship standings

Tänak said: “It was a great weekend but it was also incredibly demanding. The temperatures and the length of the rally were massive obstacles, but we were very happy to put a winning package together, keep the tyres alive and demonstrate our performance. Since Saturday morning we were able to control the pace, I felt good in the car and it was working really well in these conditions. We avoided punctures all weekend by pushing in the sections with minimal risk and holding back in the rougher places, and that was the key. Overall, we are very happy to claim our first win at Acropolis in these conditions.”

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

• Frenchmen claim second podium with Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team
• Crew end Acropolis Rally with their best-ever result at the event

Fourmaux said: “This was one of the toughest Acropolis Rallies I’ve ever competed in. Temperatures were really high and the ground was super abrasive with a lot of loose rocks. We saw a lot of punctures during the rally, but we managed to stay away with minimal tyre damage. I’m pleased to finish on the podium, we were fighting for second but after the issue we had yesterday that fight was over. Securing third was really important to us and we managed to do it, so I’m pleased with the weekend overall.”

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

• Belgians’ frustrating weekend ends with 13-point haul
• Crew finished third on Power Stage

Neuville said: “I’m leaving Greece with a solid points haul, but it’s not the weekend I wanted. I had three punctures, and from then on we faced other issues with the car that didn’t help our final efforts today. All in all, we had lots of trouble, but we were able to fix the car for the Power Stage and finish that third fastest. I want to target a podium finish and some big points in Estonia; it’s not my favourite surface, but we’ve performed well there in the past, so let’s see.”

Hyundai Motorsport President and Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said: 

“Extreme heat, very long days, lots of punctures and mechanical issues: we tamed them all to come out on top of this scorching Acropolis Rally, with Ott demonstrating an amazing drive all weekend. He showed the true pace of the car and he had the right mindset to navigate around the many challenges and emerge on top in a weekend made especially difficult by the very challenging season so far. It’s our first win of the season, and that is reflective of the whole team’s efforts to make it happen – and we did it at a notoriously challenging rally. Adrien and Thierry were also contenders for very strong weekends, but various setbacks put them further down the overall classification. It’s great to see Adrien back on the podium, he showed his maturity and his ability to contribute to the team’s target. We look forward to seeing Thierry in better circumstances as soon as Rally Estonia.”

Next rally

• Rally Estonia (July 18-20) is round eight of the 2025 FIA WRC season, and is set to provide an exhilarating experience for crews and fans alike
• High-speed gravel roads are combined with twisting technical sections, forcing competitors to balance precision and risk across the unforgiving stages.