Hyundai’s factory team plans to decide within the next two months whether to field four cars in the 2024 World Rally Championship
Hyundai plans to decide by the end of September whether to expand its factory programme in the World Rally Championship (WRC) to four cars next year. A move that will be crucial for the driver selection.
Motorsport boss Cyril Abiteboul had expressed thoughts to that effect. Currently, Hyundai fields three factory cars, Toyota three or four depending on the driver constellation and M-Sport-Ford usually two.
The time frame now outlined until the end of September is necessary for logistical reasons alone, according to Abiteboul. “Honestly, there are a lot of parts on the car that have a long lead time, so we have to make a decision quickly and I guess that will be by the end of September at the latest,”
Only Thierry Neuville with contract for 2024
According to Abiteboul, the sticking point in the internal discussions about expansion is also the possibility of securing a driver line-up that justifies the extra effort. “If we want four cars, we have to make sure we have four good drivers who can take advantage of four cars,” he said.
As for the driver line-up for 2024, Thierry Neuville has a contract for next season and is currently the only Rally1 driver with a contract for 2024, while Abiteboul confirmed on the sidelines of Safari Rally Kenya that he wants to talk to Esapekka Lappi about a contract extension.
Returning driver Teemu Suninen, who put in a solid performance in his first outing in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 at Rally Estonia, may also fancy his chances of securing a cockpit for the 2024 season.
Hyundai is investigating the possibility of running a FOURTH top flight car in the World Rally Championship next year.
The manufacturer has fielded three cars in the WRC‘s top tier since 2019, but is considering expanding its line-up to four for the 2024 season. seanknows pic.twitter.com/WlMvkv3qYo
– Sean Cardovillis (@seancardo) June 27, 2023
Future of veteran Dani Sordo is open
The future of veteran Dani Sordo is still open. The now 40-year-old Spaniard could return to a part-time programme of single WRC rounds next year or end his driving career and take on a different role in the team. Hyundai has also signed reigning WRC2 champion Emil Lindholm as part of the brand’s newly launched driver development programme.
The Toyota trio of world champion Kalle Rovanperä, Elfyn Evans and part-time driver Sebastian Ogier, as well as former Hyundai driver and current M-Sport star Ott Tänak, are out of contract until 2024.
Asked if he would like to sign Rovanperä, Abiteboul replied, “I am also learning to see where someone’s future lies. You feel that Kalle is in the right place at this time and you have to think about what you can offer. It’s not really clear what we can offer Kalle that he doesn’t have at the moment.”
“He is probably one of the fastest drivers out there, it would be stupid not to try to find out what we can offer him,” Abiteboul continued. “But don’t speculate that we will sign Kalle. There is 2024 and there is the long-term future and that is what I do with every driver who drives in Rally1 and Rally2. I try to understand what I want. “
