Hyundai confirms major upgrades coming to Rally Sweden

In the first battle of this 2025 championship in WRC, the victory went to Toyota face HyundaiThe Japanese clan won the double during the Rally Monte Carlo when, at the same time, the South Korean manufacturer had to be content with a simple podium with Adrien fourmaux, at the end of a rally with ups and downs for the two leaders of the team, Ott Tänak (5e) and Thierry Neuville (6th). However, the response is being prepared on the Alzenau side, Hyundai Motorsport's base camp. Indeed, after several months of waiting, the Hyundai i20 N will receive major developments for the next round, the Rally Sweden (February 13-16).

An expected update, the content of which was timidly revealed by Hyundai. The Korean team indicates that the i20 N Rally1 evolved "will retain the current Rally1 chassis, but will be reworked in other areas to maximize efficiency", including changes to the suspensions and a significant reduction in weight. "The team used several 2025 wild cards to try to improve performance until the end of the season", we can read in the preview of the Rally Sweden shared by Hyundai.

At the end of the Monte-Carlo Rally, Cyril Abiteboul had already revealed that the developments on the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 would arrive in Scandinavia, new features of an unprecedented scale according to the French manager.  "In Sweden, the car will have its developments, they are quite profound. In any case, these are developments that we have never had since the introduction of this car three years ago, it should still be visible", said Hyundai Motorsport President nearby from RTBF, in Monaco.

Hyundai and the unknown Hankook tires

Defending winner of Rally Sweden – with Esapekka Lappi set to win in 2024 – Hyundai is confident of claiming victory in Scandinavia. In addition to its advanced mount and interesting starting positions for Ott Tänak and Thierry Neuville, the Korean clan arrives with some certainties after conclusive winter tests on snow. Nevertheless, the main unknown resists in the new Hankook tires and their road holding on ice…

“We have some data on the new Hankook tyres since the first round, but with the studded ice tyre being the only option available in Sweden, we will still have a lot to discover in these difficult conditions, recognizes Cyril Abiteboul. Our aim is to achieve a solid result for all three of our crews, which is essential as they face extended Toyota and M-Sport »

For Adrien Fourmaux, however, the Rally Sweden is likely to be a little more difficult than his two teammates. Second at the start of the first stage, the Frenchman will have to work hard if he wants to repeat his performance from last year (3rd with M-Sport). “After Monte Carlo, we knew we would have a tough challenge in Sweden: when you have a good result in the first round, your road position is more difficult in the second, recalls the Northerner. We did two days of testing on snow in December and then another in January, which allowed us to gain experience with the car on snow and feel confident going into this event. We want to push and do our best to repeat our podium from last year, but we know it’s a big challenge to be second on the road. We need to score as many points as possible in this rally, and we’ll see where we finish.”

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