Christian Loriaux has been one of the technology gurus of the World Rally Championship for around 30 years – After a few years, he leaves Hyundai – Internally, the positions are being restructured
For the first time, Hyundai has won the drivers’ world championship in the World Rally Championship. In the manufacturers’ championship, the South Korean brand only had to admit defeat to Toyota by three points. The third manufacturers’ world championship title was narrowly missed.
Shortly before Christmas, personnel changes in the team were announced. Christian Loriaux has left Hyundai. He held the position of WRC manager and was very important for the recent successes of the i20 N Rally1.
Loriaux joined Hyundai’s motorsport department in Alzenau in 2021. Initially, he was a technical consultant before taking on a larger role in the team. His wealth of experience, along with the expertise of technical director Francois-Xavier Demaison, was essential.
Loriaux made a name for himself with the development of the Subaru Impreza WRC2000. After 11 years at Prodrive, he joined M-Sport in 2002 and played a major role in the development of the various models.
Hyundai Motorsport’s Head of Motorsport, Cyril Abiteboul, says in farewell that Loriaux will “embark on a new adventure”. The engineering department, led by Demaison, will take on some of the tasks. However, some tasks will also be transferred to other people.
Pablo Marcos returns to Hyundai after a year at M-Sport to take on the role of team manager. Tolga Ozakinci, the previous team manager, will now take on the newly created role of head of racing operations.
“We had a very strong 2024 season, but we didn’t achieve everything we set out to,” says Abiteboul. ”With a transformative year for our motorsport activities in mind, we have been considering how we can streamline our organization.”
In doing so, the Frenchman confirms the new positions of Marcos and Ozakinci. Regarding Loriaux, Abiteboul says: “Finally, we would like to thank Christian for his contribution over the past three years to our mission.”
“He was a great support to me personally when I entered the world of rallying. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.” It is not yet known what Loriaux will be doing next year.
