Hyundai has filled two key positions with Francois-Xavier Demaison and Cyril Abiteboul – Thierry Neuville wants to attack in 2024
“Every year it looks good, but then it ends badly,” jokes Thierry Neuville, who competes for Hyundai in the World Rally Championship (WRC), in an interview with Dirtfish.com. Nevertheless, the Belgian, who has been battling for the WRC title with the Koreans since 2014, believes the breakthrough will come in the 2024 season, as the key positions at the brand are well filled. With Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul and engineer Francois-Xavier Demaison, both of whom have Formula 1 experience, Hyundai is set for an upward trajectory.
“I’ve never had as much confidence in the key people as I do today,” says the 35-year-old, who has finished second overall five times in his career – four times with Hyundai. “Cyril is getting to know the WRC in his position, and that’s why we definitely want to attack next year. The cooperation with Francois-Xavier and Christian Loriaux [Hyundai technical advisor] is going very well.”
Neuville believes that Hyundai has long been ready for the big WRC title, but even Ott Tänak, who will drive for M-Sport-Ford in 2023 and return to Hyundai in 2024, has not yet been able to bring the title to South Korea. The Estonian won the world championship in 2019, but still with Toyota at the time. Since then, the Japanese have dominated the series and won five drivers’ titles.
Before that, Ford, Volkswagen and Citroen were the top dogs in the WRC, while Hyundai has been waiting for its first overall victory since entering the series in 2014 – despite having top material and top drivers. In the 2024 season, it’s “now or never” for the brand, at least according to Neuville, who wants to shake up the WRC together with returnee Tänak.
Neuville’s recent victory at the Central Europe Rally provided momentum and a good mood at Hyundai. However, the experienced Belgian warns against too much euphoria, because “every season starts from scratch” and the results from 2023 would therefore not mean much. In any case, Neuville is expecting a fierce battle in 2024, not only with Toyota, but also with his new old team-mate Tänak.
“It’s always a give and take, because the rules, the positions and the starting grid mean there will never be big gaps,” says Neuville confidently. Hyundai made a weak start to the 2023 season and had to wait until the Rally Italy – the sixth round of the year – for its first victory. Since then, Neuville has celebrated two victories, while the championship went early to Kalle Rovanperä, who successfully defended his title ahead of the finale in Japan.