Hyundai’s withdrawal from the World Rally Championship is not an issue, according to Ott Tänak: but the 2019 world champion is calling for changes in structures
Ott Tänak has denied speculation that Hyundai could withdraw its factory team from the World Rally Championship (WRC). “Hyundai will definitely continue, the support from South Korea is great,” Tänak said at Sunday’s post-Rally Estonia press conference.
Hyundai is currently experiencing a difficult season. The team is running behind the disadvantage caused by the late start in the development of the i20 N Rally1. One win this season by Tänak is offset by five by Toyota driver Kalle Rovaneprä.
With Thierry Neuville already 83 points behind the Finn, the race for the drivers’ championship is basically over at the halfway point of the season. In the manufacturers’ standings, Hyundai is also already 87 points behind Toyota after seven of 13 WRC rounds.
Team manager post vacant for over seven months
“There are a lot of basic things that didn’t go right [during the car’s development] and now we have to improve them little by little,” Tänak admits. “For sure everybody wanted a lot of things, but let’s just say that it needs some very simple changes in the general structure. “
Tänak is referring to the still vacant post of motorsport chief. Following the surprise resignation of Andrea Adamo in December 2021, the top management position at Hyundai Motorsport remains vacant and is filled on an interim basis by Julien Moncet, who is actually head of engine development.
“It has been a challenge for us since we lost our team principal last year. It’s been a very tough time, and with the crisis in the world and the rules coming in late,” says Tänak. “We definitely need a strong leader. We will continue to work to bring Hyundai to where it belongs, to be able to stand up to the Toyotas. “
Contract with key sponsor just extended
The fact that the contract with sponsor Shell was extended by three years last week also speaks against a withdrawal of Hyundai from the WRC.
Most recently, interim team boss Moncet had to admit that the global supply and logistics crisis was hitting Hyundai harder than Toyota, as they were more dependent on external suppliers.
However, Moncet says that all these problems are being worked on behind the scenes. “We had some internal meetings to try to improve all the processes”,
“We have done a lot of things that should not be visible from the outside, but will help us to be better prepared,” Moncet continued. “We have a clear idea of what we want to achieve, so maybe it will take a bit of time, but we will not give up. “