Zero wins in five rallies, but Hyundai believes a turnaround is coming—Test runs ahead of Portugal have given the team new confidence for gravel stages
Toyota has dominated the 2026 World Rally Championship season so far. All five wins have gone to the Japanese brand. Hyundai has had only one chance to win a rally.
That was in Croatia, when Thierry Neuville already had a lead of over a minute. But the former world champion slid off the track during the Power Stage, and Hyundai was left empty-handed once again.
In three of the first five rallies, Toyota swept the podium, including a one-two-three finish on the slippery asphalt of the Canary Islands. The Hyundai i20 N’s biggest weakness so far has been roads with low grip, particularly on asphalt.
That is why the team is looking more optimistically toward the start of the gravel season this coming weekend in Portugal. The test runs leading up to the event have sparked optimism that the tide will turn on gravel.
It is also expected that Hyundai will equip the car with the full range of upgrades, following the implementation of several development updates in Croatia in early April.
“The season is really just getting started for us in Portugal, because the surface is fundamentally different from anything we’ve driven so far. The tests went well, and we’re more confident about our pace on gravel,” says Adrien Fourmaux.
“I like Rally Portugal and have always been competitive here. I’ve had some bad luck in the past with a few punctures or technical issues, but we’re heading there motivated to attack in Portugal.”
His teammate Neuville shares this view, although the 2024 World Champion is cautiously optimistic regarding his own expectations and those of the team for the rough gravel stages in Portugal.
“It’s good to be optimistic, because that helps us move forward,” says Neuville. “But we shouldn’t be too optimistic either. We have to keep both feet on the ground.”
“We’re up against a very strong competitor who’s doing everything right. They’re entering five cars, we’re entering three. We might have more speed, but the rally is long.“
”The feeling during the test runs was good, and if we can confirm that at the rally, it will be a positive start,” Neuville hopes. Hyundai already demonstrated its pace in Portugal last year.
Back then, Ott Tänak and Fourmaux had the speed needed to compete for the win, before a power steering issue for Tänak and a technical problem for Fourmaux dashed all hopes of victory.
This year, the team will travel to Portugal with a revised i20 N, with Dani Sordo—who has already stood on the podium seven times in Portugal—replacing Tänak in the lineup.
Portugal to be a litmus test for Hyundai
Hyundai’s sporting director Andrew Wheatley believes the team can set “more ambitious” goals this week: “As the first gravel rally, Rally Portugal is very important for assessing the team’s performance.”
“We know the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 is fast in these conditions, and we’ve worked hard to continuously improve reliability.”
“This rally has a similar profile to the Acropolis Rally, Sardinia, and Saudi Arabia, so it offers a good opportunity to assess performance for upcoming events.”
“Our goals in Portugal are more ambitious than in recent rallies. Although we expect our competitor to have been active over the winter, we are implementing most of the insights from our 2026 tests.”
“With a good starting order on Thursday and Friday, we’re confident we’ll be able to fight for the podium, but since Oliver Solberg and Sébastien Ogier also have good starting positions, the task will be a bit more complicated.”
“It looks like there might be some rain around the time of the ‘Recce,’ which could reduce the disadvantage of having to go out first. However, we believe we have three teams with the pace to fight for the podium.”