Why Hyundai's Crisis Management Has Begun in the Canary Islands

Hyundai acknowledges they misjudged the challenge posed by Rally Islas Canarias, putting them in a position where they must focus on minimizing losses; meanwhile, Toyota has secured the first five spots.

The Korean brand has found itself at a disadvantage after failing to decipher the keys to swift performance on the smooth tarmac of the Canary Island roads, which are hosting their inaugural round of the World Rally Championship this weekend.

Thierry Neuville , Ott Tanak and Adrien Fourmaux have not managed to outperform Toyota, as they drove their significantly enhanced 2025 i20 N Rally1 cars on a stage where Toyota drivers have excelled. By early Saturday morning, Fourmaux led his team with the best result among the three, securing sixth place, which was still 1 minute and 39.7 seconds behind the dominant leader from Team Toyota, Kalle Rovanperä. Neuville followed closely in seventh position, trailing the leader by an additional 1 minute and 47.5 seconds, whereas Tanak held the eighth spot, lagging behind by 2 minutes and 1.8 seconds.

All Hyundai drivers have experienced problems with balance and grip when using the new Hankook hard tire for the first time, which has made them hesitant to drive at their maximum potential. Despite numerous setup adjustments, the team hasn’t seen much improvement, suggesting an underlying problem with the vehicle under these circumstances. In rallying events, WRC teams face restrictions on modifications; things like differentials and crucial parts must remain sealed throughout the competition.

At minimum, we are battling alongside our teammates, which means there’s still some reason to compete," Neuville said to The News Pulse. "However, that’s everything we can manage right now.

I'm quite certain our current differentials aren't up to par for what we need. Sadly, I believe that even with the new updates on this vehicle, it might be feasible to use a distinct differential—something more open and liberated similar to Toyota’s setup. However, regrettably, these were sealed off three years back during homologation, leaving us limited options.

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe from Hyundai World Rally Team driving the Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo courtesy of: Red Bull Content Pool

When queried about his worries regarding the car’s performance for forthcoming races on tarmac surfaces in Central Europe and Japan, Neuville commented: "No, the road conditions are quite specific here."

It’s an unadulterated car racing event; it feels akin to piloting a Formula 1 vehicle. The quicker your car performs, the more speed you gain as a driver. Not even a pebble disrupts these clear roadways. We’ve had consistently dry weather with just some light mist which hasn’t impacted us much. In rallies held in places such as Central Europe and Japan, one could slightly adjust for certain conditions and terrain types where typically our team excels. So, I remain unfazed.

Hyundai can’t pinpoint precisely what prevents the i20 N from getting comparable performance out of the tires like Toyota does, prompting a deeper probe once they return to their main offices.

The significant gap behind Toyota came as a shock, considering Neuville was generally quicker than Toyota overall. Elfyn Evans When their duo performed a trial run during the Rally Sierra Morena in Spain earlier this month.

Upon reflection of the circumstances, Hyundai’s technical director FX Demaison hasn’t dismissed the possibility of employing their last development homologation card if necessary to address the issue.

We've experimented with numerous options using our current resources, but none have resulted in significant progress," Demaison stated to The News Pulse. "We've reverted to the initial setup. Certain components within the vehicle are locked down, preventing us from fully optimizing the performance of these tires.

Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRTToyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

We conducted only minimal testing for this tire, and we also hadn't tested here, which might have been an error. We failed to anticipate how challenging this rally would be.

“Certainly, we are now in damage control mode. We need to aim for the highest possible scores and then return to improve our preparation and become stronger.”

Absolutely, we might want to think about playing our final wildcard. Once we assess our position, and determine if using the wildcard would put us where we need to be, then we'll go ahead with it. However, I'm uncertain about doing so right now.

Read Also: The USA could be part of the WRC schedule in 2026. Rovanperä has discovered "strategies" to enhance pace with the new WRC tires.

On the contrary, Hyundai’s competitors, Toyota, have taken control of this weekend’s rally led impressively by an invigorated Rovanperä. He secured victory in the first nine stages, placing him ahead of his teammate Sébastien Ogier by 36.9 seconds.

Championship front-runner Elfyn Evans concluded Saturday morning in third place, trailing by 53 seconds, yet still outpacing his teammates. Sami Pajari [+1m16.9s] and Takamoto Katsuta [+1m26.0s].

M-Sport-Ford’s Gregoire Munster came in ninth after the Hyundai group, with Yohan Rossel completing the top 10 and topping the WRC2 category.