Hyundai Motorsport starts its 2025 campaign with a podium finish at Rallye Monte-Carlo, the first round of the 2025 FIA WRC season. Adrien Fourmaux fought across the stages to bring home Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team’s first podium of the year.
Three stages rounded out the weekend: Avançon / Notre-Dame du Laus 2 (SS3/16, 13.97km), Digne-les-Bains / Chaudon-Norante 2 (SS1/17, 19.01km) and La Bollène-Vésubie / Peïra-Cava (SS18, 17.92km).
In just their first weekend with the team, Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria clinched a third-step finish after a tantalising battle across the final stage of the day with Elfyn Evans. Throughout the entire weekend the Frenchmen had been going back and forth with both Evans and team-mate Ott Tänak to tussle for a place on the podium, ultimately losing out on second place by just 7.5 seconds. This third-place finish is the sixth of the crew’s career and their first in Performance Blue, and gives them plenty of positive momentum to take to the snowy Swedish stages in just three weeks’ time.
A testing weekend for Tänak and Martin Järveoja ended positively after 18 stages. After finding the right rhythm yesterday, the crew struggled to get back into the groove of the rally today with the change in conditions – and therefore tyres. Finishing in the top five on two of the day’s three stages, the Estonians end the event in fifth. With a lot of learning undertaken at Rallye Monte-Carlo, they will return to their Hyundai i20 N Rally1 in Sweden with a clearer understanding of what’s needed to remain in the fight for the top spots.
An improved Sunday performance saw Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe claim two top-five stage times on Sunday’s three tests. While competitors fell foul on SS16, a conservative tyre choice of full studs for the Belgians set them up well for unpredictable stage. This setup was optimal in the icy sections faced throughout the remainder of the day, but disadvantaged the crew on the dry tarmac sections – particularly hindering them across the ascent of SS18. Ending their first event of the year in sixth overall, the defending world champions venture to Rally Sweden in three weeks with an improved performance as their target.
Crew Notes: Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (#16 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
- Crew finish first event with Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team in third, just 26.0 seconds behind the winner
- Fourmaux/Coria’s strong performance creates positive momentum for the rest of the season
Fourmaux said: “Monte-Carlo is always something special, and to have such a great start with Hyundai is really positive so I am really pleased with my weekend. We put a lot of pressure on Elfyn and Seb, but we couldn’t push it that little bit more with that much snow on the road as we didn’t want to risk too much. It’s a shame, but it’s a part of game – we have no regrets. Sweden will be good, for sure; we will be second on the road in the snow and the cold temperatures, but I am really looking forward to it.”
Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
- Unpredictable final day sees Estonians finish outside podium positions
- Crew looking to bounce back at snow event Rally Sweden
Tänak said: “It was quite an entertaining weekend but still lots of positives to take away. We got some good points and can be a bit happier with the road position going to round two. There were some things we couldn’t get right, but obviously the base was there. We will get it sorted and working, but it takes a bit of time. I am looking forward to Sweden, and we will be able to try the upgraded car for the first time so hopefully we will see an improved performance on that side as well.”
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#1 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
- Full-stud tyres put Belgians on the backfoot on final day of competition
- Reigning world champions to take Monte-Carlo experience and optimise car setup
Neuville said: “All in all it was a challenging weekend for us. It went wrong from the braking in the hairpin on Friday, and then the combination of our road position and the conditions today that didn’t favour us. Today there was less ice than expected, and cars were going faster on slick tyres – it was a difficult Sunday. We can optimistic about what’s coming next in Sweden; we will have a better road position and hopefully a better rally because of it, but we still need to make the most of it.”
Hyundai Motorsport President and Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said:
“After a win here last year a third-place finish comes somewhat as a disappointment, but there are plenty of positives to be taken from this weekend. The first one is Adrien’s result in his first weekend with the team, and I am sure we will see a lot more this year as he gets fully familiar with the car and the team. Another positive is that our drivers managed to take the right approach to the challenges they were facing, which will be the key to this long and unpredictable championship. Finally, the car overall has been competitive across the course of the weekend; with the evolutions to come in Sweden and interesting road positions we are all really looking forward to the next round.”
Next rally
- FIA WRC action will resume in three weeks for the legendary Rally Sweden (February 13-16), round two of the 2025 season.
