Hyundai Starts 2024 WRC Season With Rallye Monte-Carlo Victory

ThierryNeuville and Martijn Wydaeghe have taken an exceptional victory at RallyeMonte-Carlo, the first round of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship. The Belgian Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team crew made the perfect start totheir season after a thrilling battle for victory across 17 demanding stages.Across four days of intense competition, with twists and turns that mirroredthe mountainous roads of the rally, Neuville/Wydaeghe demonstrated impressiveform and emphatically set out their intensions for the year ahead. Sunday closed an epic edition of Rallye Monte-Carlo with three final stages. Afinal day flourish from the Belgians saw them claim a clean sweep of stagewins. By topping the classification on Saturday, Sunday and the Power Stage,the crew brought home the maximum points on offer from the event. Neuville'swin marks his second in Rallye Monte-Carlo and his 20th with HyundaiMotorsport. Their team-mates Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja finished fourth overall in theirfirst event back in Hyundai Motorsport colours. Early engine issues hamperedthe crew's overall result, however there were plentiful signs of things to comein Monte-Carlo. As well as a joint stage win on Saturday, the Estonians claimedfour additional points with fourth place in the Super Sunday leader board andone point for their Power Stage efforts. Andreas Mikkelsen and Torstein Eriksen ended a weekend of steady progressionwith clean runs through the final three stages to confirm sixth place. TheNorwegian crew was improving step-by-step throughout the weekend in their firstouting in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, and now turn their focus tocontinuing their learning in their next event. Neuville tops the drivers' standings with a six-point advantage, while there isjust one point separating the top two in the manufacturers' fight heading intoSweden.

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe

• Belgians secured nine stage wins in Rallye Monte-Carlo
• Crew awarded maximum 30 points from event

Neuville said: "I don't have the words, to be honest. It was just so greatthis weekend, I felt so comfortable in the car. The team has done an amazingjob and I think the whole package was working very well. It was the first timethat we had the team in place like this, and I think this has been a good signfor the future. There's always some work left so we need to continue workinghard, but I'm very happy to win this rally. We were the boss this weekend. Thecar was amazing so I'd like to say a big thank you to the team." Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja

• Estonians finish fourth overall and in Super Sunday classification
• Two top-three stage times on final day demonstrate crew is on the pace

Tänak said: "We need to take fourth but obviously it was not an easyevent. We had a lot to learn and discover about the Hyundai i20 N Rally 1Hybrid. It hasn't been the most consistent event but we got through theweekend, and let's see what we can do next. We're looking forward to Sweden andanother adventure. It is coming round very quickly so we are hoping that aftersome pre-event testing we will be even more ready than we were this weekend." Crew Notes: Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen

• Sixth place finish after an important learning event for Norwegian crew
• Mikkelsen/Torstein will return to tarmac for Croatia Rally in April

Mikkelsen said: "We have enjoyed this weekend. Yesterday we made a goodimprovement in our speed but we were cautious today because we were in themiddle of no man's land. We tried to give it a push on the Power Stage and wewere only 0.3 seconds off the pace per kilometre, so we are getting closer andcloser. These cars are awesome. To use the maximum potential of them you reallyneed to be used to how they drive and I am still learning how quick you can go,especially in medium-high speed places where I'm not using the downforceenough. I'm just missing that extra bit of knowledge but with some more seattime, we should be good to go." Hyundai Motorsport president and team principal Cyril Abiteboulsaid: "Winning in Monte-Carlo is on everyone's bucket list when you workin motorsport. As a team, we are relieved - not only because we have won aniconic event, but also that this has been a remarkable and collecteddemonstration. We haven't spoken about it too much, but the car has changed alot since last year as we understood how to set it up and how to release itsfull potential across a weekend. This win is highly deserved, as is always thecase, but when it happens like this it is really a great feeling." Next rally

Rally Sweden isthe next challenge on the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship season, takingplace from 15 to 18 February. Crews will swap icy tarmacroads for snowbanks and studded tyres, with three Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybridsset to take on the challenge.

Final results Rallye Monte-Carlo:

1 - T. Neuville

M. Wydaeghe

Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid

3:09:30.9

2 - S. Ogier

V. Landais

Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid

+16.1

3 - E. Evans

S. Martin

Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid

+45.2

4 - O. Tänak

M. Järveoja

Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid

+1:59.8

5 - A. Fourmaux

A. Coria

Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid

+3:36.9

6 - A. Mikkelsen

T. Eriksen

Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid

+5:34.6

7 - T. Katsuta

A. Johnston

Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid

+8:28.5

8 - J. Rossel

A. Dunand

Citroën C3

+10:29.8

9 - P. Lopez

D. Vazquez

Škoda Fabia RS

+10:33.8

10 - N. Gryazin

K. Aleksandrov

Citroën C3

+10:45.2

Manufacturers' championship standings after round 1:

1 Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 46

2 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 45

3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 12

Drivers' championship standings after round 1:

1 T. Neuville 30

2 S. Ogier 24

3 E. Evans 21

4 O. Tänak 15

5 A. Fourmaux 11

6 T. Katsuta 9

7 A. Mikkelsen 6