Toyota has emerged as the current pacesetter in WRC having won four of the five events to date this season, while Hyundai is the only Rally1 team yet to score a victory this calendar year following M-Sport-Ford’s success in Sweden.
While Hyundai’s last WRC win came in last year’s season finale in Japan, the Korean car maker has made a far stronger start to the 2023 campaign compared to a difficult beginning to the Rally1 era twelve months ago.
Its updated i20 N, which underwent visible aerodynamic improvements over the winter, has scored seven podiums shared between drivers Thierry Neuville, Esapekka Lappi, Dani Sordo and the late Craig Breen, including second-place finishes in Sweden, Mexico and Portugal.
After scoring a double podium in Portugal earlier this month, albeit almost a minute behind rally winner Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera, Abiteboul says it is clear that his team needs to push harder to close the gap to Toyota.
“I think we need to be a bit more honest with ourselves,” Abiteboul told Autosport.
“We had an indication after Mexico that we were looking competitive but again I think we were helped a little with the circumstances in Mexico.
“Now that we have the indication of where we stand we probably need to tackle the areas with a bit more energy and commitment than we have so far with regard to all aspects of the car and the organisation.”
Source: Autosport