Hyundai Motorsport wrapped up the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with a 1-2 result at Rally Japan, securing the team their fifth win of the season and their second of the year for the Belgian team Thierry Neuville and Martin Wydaeghe.
- Hyundai Motorsport has completed the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with a resounding 1-2 at Rally Japan;
- Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe took their second win of the season, and the team’s fifth, on a rain-affected final day, ahead of Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja in second;
- Tire choice played a big part on the final day as the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 crews came out on top to ensure the team a competitive finish.
Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja finished the final day of the new tarmac event in second place overall to claim their eighth podium finish of the season, and 16th overall since joining Hyundai Motorsport in 2020.
On the final day on the picturesque Japanese roads, the teams overcame five tricky stages in tricky conditions with rain in the morning. The program began with the 7.52km sprint through Asahi Kougen (SS15), which also acted as the season-closing Power Stage (SS19).
It was followed by the longest test of the day, Ena City (SS16/SS18, 21.59km), with a single pass by Nenoue Plateau (SS17, 11.60km) between the two repeated stages.
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Both Hyundai Motorsport teams opted to bring wet weather tires as part of their final day pack, in anticipation of mid-morning rain.
Neuville saw his lead initially cut to 0.6sec, but a stage win in the dry section that followed and the drama of Elfyn Evans they gave the Belgian a comfortable lead of a minute, now over his Estonian teammates. From there, both teams took a cautious approach when the rain came to secure a 1-2 result.
In terms of pure statistics, the 1-2 result is historic for the team. It is the 25th win for Hyundai Motorsport since joining the WRC in 2014, and the top two positions give the team its 99th and 100th individual podium finishes.
Adding to the celebratory numbers, the team also posted five wins in a single season for the first time (following success in sardinia, FinlandYpres and Greece), all in the first season with his Hyundai i20 N Rally1, a multiple rally winner on gravel and tarmac.
