Reported
Hyundai aims for remaining 2026 rally wins
Hyundai targets victories in the final four WRC events, despite championship challenges. Focus on performance and reliability.
Hyundai Motorsport is committed to securing victory in the remaining four rounds of the 2026 World Rally Championship (WRC) season, despite the constructors' and drivers' championships appearing out of reach. This objective was communicated by Hyundai sporting director Andrew Wheatley, who articulated the team's 'full throttle' approach, aiming for maximum performance in the upcoming events, as reported by DirtFish.
The team's ambition extends to the immediate future with rallies in Paraguay and Chile, where Wheatley believes Hyundai cars possess the necessary competitiveness and reliability. He highlighted the car's strong performance on rough gravel surfaces, suggesting it is well-suited for a podium challenge in these events. While acknowledging past questions regarding their pace on smooth gravel, Wheatley indicated that the team has addressed these concerns, now operating within an optimal performance window that should allow them to contend across varied terrain, including the mixed conditions expected in the next two rounds.
Championship Landscape
Toyota Gazoo Racing currently holds a significant advantage in both championships, with Elfyn Evans leading the drivers' standings on 201 points, ahead of Finnish driver Sami Pajari with 171 points. Takamoto Katsuta is third with 160 points. In the manufacturers' championship, Toyota's lead is similarly substantial. Wheatley conceded to DirtFish that the championship fight for Hyundai effectively concluded after the Rally Greece event in late June, shifting the team's focus entirely towards individual rally wins. Despite this, he emphasized the team's desire to disrupt the established order and challenge Toyota's inter-team battles, underscoring their commitment to being competitive through the season's conclusion.
Upcoming Challenges
The remaining WRC calendar features a mix of rough and smooth gravel events, which Hyundai believes plays into their current strengths. Rally Paraguay and Rally Chile will test the team's developments on diverse surfaces. Following these, the season includes Sardinia, known for its rough conditions, and Rally Saudi Arabia, although the latter's inclusion remains subject to official confirmation. Hyundai remains the only current manufacturer not to have secured a victory at Rally Chile, where Toyota has triumphed three times (2019, 2024, 2025) and M-Sport Ford once (2023). Toyota also won last year's Rally del Paraguay, an event where Adrien Fourmaux was poised for a second-place finish before encountering issues on the final two stages. This history presents both a challenge and an opportunity for Hyundai to alter previous outcomes.
Driver Standings
Currently, Sami Pajari, the Finnish driver, is positioned second in the WRC drivers' championship, holding 171 points. This places him 30 points behind championship leader Elfyn Evans. The performance of Hyundai's drivers in the upcoming events will be crucial for the team to achieve its stated goal of winning the remaining rallies, and for Pajari to maintain or improve his strong championship standing. Despite the overall championship picture for the manufacturer, individual event victories can significantly impact driver and co-driver standings, offering valuable points and momentum heading into the off-season. The team's 'full throttle' strategy is therefore not solely about manufacturer pride but also about maximizing points for their individual competitors.
Status And Sources
This story is labelled Reported, which means a newsroom we cite carries this but the people involved have not confirmed it. The rules behind those labels are in the editorial policy, and the desk that published it is Aino Virtanen.
Written from the following reporting. Each link goes to the newsroom's own page, not to an aggregator:
- DirtFishdirtfish.com
