Hyundai’s revised 2025 World Rally Championship car will address some of its current “peaky” handling issues, with the team “making big efforts” to find solutions.
The i20 N has proven to be fast and more reliable this year but its optimum operating window is narrow which has frustrated drivers.
In low grip and changeable conditions the car has struggled to consistently perform, with the Toyota arguably the benchmark in such scenarios.
At last weekend’s Rally Finland, Thierry Neuville and Esapekka Lappi struggled for ultimate performance and were forced into trying several set-ups to tame the i20 N. Neuville said that the team “turned the car upside down and we couldn’t find anything that gave us more performance” on his run to second overall.
Team principal Cyril Abiteboul is fully aware of the “peaky” nature of its WRC car and has assured the team it is working to find solutions through much publicised upgrades for next year, while the squad has already planned some tests designed to resolve the i20 N’s problems.
“We have a car that is suffering two things, first it is quite peaky. The operating window of whatever set up is very narrow and when we have stable condition, it can be all good, all nice, from Thursday shakedown to Sunday evening or whatever the end of the rally, but in a rally like this one where the conditions are almost changing by corner it doesn't work, it simply does not work,” Abiteboul told Motorsport.com.
“In slippery conditions we are not quite as stable as benchmark, which for me is the Toyota. I think it's clear that we've got some work to do again.
“First, finding a wider operating window and secondly, work on low grip conditions. Some of that we are trying to address is in what we have in the pipeline for next year's car, but some of that is still not totally addressed, but we are making big efforts.
“We have got some tests that are planned in order to try to bring some solution to those problems.”
Despite the balance issues in Finland, Hyundai managed to open up a 20-point lead in the manufacturers’ championship with four rounds remaining, after Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera and Elfyn Evans suffered retirements last Sunday.
