Hyundai looking for a rebound at the Rally of Portugal after the slap in the Canaries

Nothing and no one could stop him. Kalle Rovanperä crushed the Rally Canary Islands with incredible ease. The Finn erased a sluggish start to the season by securing 15 scratch times out of 18 special stages to proudly lead the event from start to finish. Winner of his second rally on asphalt, the Finn held almost a minute behind his closest rival, Sébastien Ogier (+53”5).

The two world champions led a resounding quadruple for ToyotaThe Japanese manufacturer has struck a major blow in the championship by crushing Hyundai : the teams of Cyril Abiteboul were never able to play for the win, and even the podium escaped them against the championship leader Elfyn Evans (3rd) and the Japanese Takamoto Katsuta (4th).

Now 51 points behind Toyota, Hyundai must quickly right the ship or risk falling into an almost irretrievable deficit. A stroke of luck for the team of the reigning world champion, Thierry Neuville : the next round, scheduled for this weekend in Portugal, will be held on gravel, a surface where the Hyundais were at ease in Kenya.

"We want to turn the page after a disappointing final round before Rally Portugal. This is the second gravel round of the season, and even though the profile is completely different to Kenya, we have shown that we have the pace to perform well on this surface," assures Cyril Abiteboul. “The team has a lot of experience in Portugal and I know everyone will give their all to get a good result at the end of the weekend. We need to keep the pressure on in all championships and close the gap to Toyota. Another strong finish is essential, but we are aiming for a complete collective result that will put us back in the championship race.”

Finally a first victory for Hyundai in 2025?

Hyundai, still chasing its first victory this season, had achieved a nice group shot in Kenya by placing Ott Tänak and Thierry Neuville on the podium. Both world champions praised the importance of the upcoming event.

“The Rally de Portugal is a major event in many ways. There are roads that I really enjoy, and the history of the rally, combined with the atmosphere that you find every year, is everything you would expect from such an event. boasts Ott Tänak, winner in 2019, the year of his world title. In every rally, our goal is always to be at the front of the pack, but you're only as good as your last result, and in our case, it wasn't the strongest. We have to stay focused and work to get back to the top. This is the fifth rally of the year with new tires, and we have to get the most out of them. There's no doubt this rally will be tough; Portugal always offers very long days and tough conditions on the second pass."

"The Rally de Portugal is like any other gravel rally. You have to optimize your position on the road and manage the temperatures, especially in the first few days in the Amarante region." analyzes Thierry Neuville, winner on the Portuguese roads in 2018. “The main challenge is the road conditions, which can be abrasive, and tire wear can be problematic if you push too hard. Sunday’s stages are smoother, which allows you to really push throughout the final day. We need a good collective result, to outperform the Toyotas and get ahead of Elfyn. He has a big lead in the championship and we haven’t been able to come back as much as we hoped. So he will be our main target to beat in Portugal, alongside Kalle.”

The two champions, aligned alongsideAdrien fourmaux, will be the least represented in number in Portugal: Toyota arrives with its five holders, while M-Sport arrives with Munster and McErlean, but also with Martins Sesks and Diogo Salvi, freelancers for the duration of a rally.

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