That said, Hyundai Motorsport fans face a brutal choice in Rally1 Rewind as two monumental team milestones go head-to-head. Ott Tänak's triumph on the fast gravel roads of Finland in 2022 is taking on Thierry Neuville's long-awaited maiden world championship secured in Japan two years later. Let's look at how both crews got there, because these are two very different kinds of racing pressure.
Now, Tänak did not even arrive in Finland feeling fully comfortable with his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 machine. He nevertheless produced the raw pace to lead from the second stage and the absolute resolve to keep it. Toyota's home challenge was led in the closing stages by Kalle Rovanperä, who had cut the gap to 8.4sec heading into Sunday.
Tänak and co-driver Martin Järveoja could afford little hesitation on roads where the smallest loss of confidence costs massive amounts of time. They held on to win by 6.8sec. It was Tänak's third Rally Finland victory, but Hyundai's very first win on the event, breaking Toyota's stubborn run of wins.
“I was really on the limit and over the limit for most of the rally,” Tänak explained afterwards. The final margin reflected how hard the crew had worked to resist Rovanperä and turn a difficult car feeling into a result worth celebrating.
Down in Japan, Neuville faced a completely different test, chasing a season of work and years of near-misses that finally led to a world title. Neuville had finished runner-up in the WRC five times before the 2024 finale, and his path to the crown was anything but straightforward.
A turbo problem on Friday cost him valuable time and left Tänak with an opportunity to keep the contest alive. Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe fought back to seventh by Saturday evening, still needing points from the final day to make certain.
The decisive news arrived on Sunday's opening stage, when Tänak crashed out of the rally lead. Neuville's championship advantage was now unassailable, confirming the Belgian crew's first world titles before the Power Stage.
“Honestly, it came like a surprise,” Neuville said as the news sank in. After so many seasons of getting close, he could finally celebrate. Hyundai had its first drivers' world champion, and Neuville and Wydaeghe had the achievement they had been chasing together.
