Hyundai Motorsport has made significant strides in the World Rally Championship this season, but is still ahead of Toyota Gazoo Racing. After nine laps, Hyundai has only one victory over Toyota's seven.
Hyundai's biggest improvement has been in fast gravel rallies. In Estonia, they finished second, third and fifth, while last weekend Neuville finished second for the second time in a row and Teemu Suninen finished fourth.
Hyundai calculated that it lost 0.17 seconds per kilometer to Toyota in Estonia, and calculated a similar difference in Finland, where the team made use of the test facility.
Team principal Cyril Abiteboul is confident that the improvements he's been working on can close the gap, and the next development will be rolled out in October.
The team's plans are not entirely clear, as they feel they must address durability issues after a series of driveshaft failures at the Kenya Safari Rally in June.
“I think it's a fair representation of our package in its current form,” Abiteboul told Autosport/Motorsport.com.
“We just need to be happy with the step we took last year. We need more steps for the future.”
“Numbers don't lie, they are facts. 0.17 seconds per kilometer, probably optimization of what we have and the same zama little at a time zamThe speed we need to find in the car with the improvements that take the moment.” said.
