[2025 WRC Round 12] Tänak Keeps His Title Hopes Alive With a Podium for Hyundai Motorsport
- Hyundai Motorsport Team
- 2025.11.06
- 분량11min
- 조회수 2,636Views
The Central European Rally—run across three countries, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic—bows out after this season. It’s a bittersweet curtain call: for the past two years, the event has been Hyundai Motorsport’s playground, but this year Toyota held the upper hand and luck deserted Hyundai. With the Manufacturers’ title prospects fading, Ott Tänak’s run to the podium kept his Drivers’ championship bid very much alive.
The 12th round of the 2025 WRC calendar is “variety” personified. Launched in 2023, the Central European Rally is a unique fixture that crosses Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. While rallies like Monte Carlo and Sweden have occasionally clipped a border, this was the first time in WRC history that three nations co-hosted a single round. With traditional sealed-surface (Tarmac, i.e., paved-road) rallies in Germany and France dropping off the schedule, the trio of countries teamed up to share costs and logistics—and keep a proper asphalt challenge on the slate.
This ambitious idea was possible thanks to the long-running “3-Städte-Rallye,” staged among neighboring Central European countries. Because WRC events run on closed public roads, new rounds typically require proven organizing experience.
First held in 1963, the 3-Städte began as a Cold War–era “peace” event linking Munich (Germany), Vienna (Austria), and Budapest (Hungary). After a long hiatus post-2003, it returned successfully in 2017 and, by 2021, had slots in both the German Rally Championship (DRM) and the FIA European Rally Trophy (ERT). Building on that platform, the Central European Rally officially joined the WRC calendar in 2023.
This year’s rally base was Passau, Germany—famed for aviation heritage and ties to the Bauhaus movement. Unlike last year’s Prague start, the opening day ran in Germany, with crews twice tackling a 12.83 km stage adapted from the morning shakedown route. Friday delivered a dramatic transnational loop from Germany through Austria into the Czech Republic; Saturday pushed north from Germany into Czech territory; and Sunday wrapped in Austria. Eighteen special stages (SS) totaled 306.08 km.
The CER demands constant adaptation—often crossing at least two countries in a day as surface, road width, and tire bite change on a dime. After a stretch of fast, billiard-table German asphalt, crews plunge into narrow Czech farm lanes with limited sightlines. Add in chilly Central European autumn weather, frequent rain, and fog, and unpredictability spikes. Corner cuts scrape mud and gravel onto the racing line; grip disappears, and mistakes snowball. Tire calls become a high-stakes wager that can decide the entire weekend. Many drivers tag CER as the toughest “tarmac” rally of the lot. Veterans even argue you should approach it as if it were gravel.
Launched on a three-year deal in 2023, the Central European Rally exits the calendar after this season. There’s no sign—yet—of an extension. For now it’s confirmed out for next year, with Croatia shouldering more of the tarmac-rally load.
Hyundai Motorsport entered Ott Tänak, Thierry Neuville, and Adrien Fourmaux. With the Manufacturers’ title a long shot, Hyundai made a bold pivot to maximize its Drivers’ Championship chances. The key move: remove Tänak from the team’s nominated points scorers for Manufacturers’ points.
Tänak sits fourth on 181 points, just 43 behind leader Sébastien Ogier—close enough to keep the chase alive. Being de-nominated for manufacturer scoring allowed Hyundai to swap his engine without incurring a five-minute penalty. After retiring in Chile with engine trouble and nursing a tired unit since, Tänak could bolt in fresh hardware. He tested both an updated engine and the older spec in late-September runs in Belgium, ultimately choosing the older, 2024-proven unit that delivered him victory last year.
Pre-rally, Tänak set expectations: “We’ve competed at Central European Rally a few times now, so we have a good sense of what to expect. This is an event that is very dependent on the weather conditions; there’s a lot of cuts and the road can become extremely dirty. The further back you are in the road order, the more surprises you encounter – every car pulls more dirt onto the road. Driving style is also key, especially with grip levels changing dramatically, particularly after rain. Experience really counts here. We are still in the hunt for the championship, so delivering a top performance is absolutely essential.”
While 2023 CER winner Neuville and WRC2 class winner Fourmaux chose to run development-spec 2025 evo cars, Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul explained: “Meanwhile, our continuous development of the 2025 evo car continues, with both Thierry and Adrien carrying damper updates next weekend. Their focus will be on further developing these technical upgrades for Rally Japan, and beyond.” Neuville shook off the rust on sealed surfaces at East Belgium Rally in late September, and Fourmaux did the same at ERC Croatia.
Toyota holds a powerful hand in both the Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ races. Elfyn Evans, Sébastien Ogier, Kalle Rovanperä, Takamoto Katsuta, and the separate-entry Sami Pajari gave Toyota five cars again. Evans led early this season, but Ogier’s South American double put him two points clear, intensifying the intra-team title fight.
Toyota also led Hyundai by 125 in the Manufacturers’ standings; maintain a 120-point cushion after CER and the crown could be clinched early. The nominated scorers were Evans, Ogier, and Rovanperä. In a bombshell pre-event press conference, Rovanperä declared he’ll leave WRC next season, target Japan’s Super Formula, and ultimately aim for Formula 1.
M-Sport Ford fielded Grégoire Munster and Josh McErlean. Munster was fifth here last season; for McErlean, CER was a debut.
The 2025 route featured 18 stages and 306.08 km of competition. With Prague’s superspecial gone, most tests clustered near the tri-border. Liaison mileage dropped roughly 150 km versus last year.
Hyundai hires a veteran: Andrew Wheatley joins as WRC Sporting Director
Hyundai also bolstered its operation, appointing Britain’s Andrew Wheatley as WRC Sporting Director. A long-time senior figure at M-Sport Ford and the FIA—most recently FIA Head of Road Sport Programs overseeing WRC, World RX, W2RC and 15 regional series—Wheatley brings heavyweight experience.
Wheatley on joining Hyundai: “I am delighted to join Hyundai Motorsport as WRC Sporting Director at this very exciting time. This is a team that has the experience, skill, and a strong driver line-up to win world championships. My role is to support our experienced team in every department, helping them navigate the day-to-day challenges they face and sharing my knowledge to help drive our performance. All the raw ingredients are there, and my goal is to work alongside Cyril, F-X, Pablo [Marcos] and Jan [de Jongh] to make our pathway to success as smooth as possible.”
DAY 1 — Toyota sets the pace; Fourmaux leads the Hyundai charge
Thursday, October 16: the morning shakedown used a 4.57-km loop that sampled elements of “Golf und Therme,” also earmarked for SS1 and SS2. The opener fired at 2:30 p.m., a 12.83-km tour through the spa-and-golf resort village scenery.
Ogier drew first blood for Toyota. Hyundai’s Fourmaux trailed by 1.7 seconds, with Rovanperä, Pajari, and Katsuta next. Neuville—quickest in testing—was sixth; Tänak seventh. Said Fourmaux of his clean opener: "There was already some dirt where we weren't expecting it. For me, I had a clean stage. The feeling is good." The drivers also griped about numerous plastic anti-cut blocks on corner insides that complicated lines.
SS2 reran the same road at 6:05 p.m., just before sunset, flipping the feel entirely. Rovanperä took the stage win. Ogier led Thursday overall from Rovanperä, with Hyundai’s Fourmaux third at +3.9. Tänak and Neuville closed out P6 and P7. Evans clipped a hay bale and took a 5-second penalty.
DAY 2 — Hyundai strikes back; Toyota answers
Friday, October 17 spanned six stages and 99.0 km across all three countries. Germany’s SS3 Granit und Wald opened the day, followed by Austria’s SS4 Böhmerwald, then the long Czech sector SS5 Col de Jan—an exam in changing road width, surface, and grip that stress-tested setup and tire calls. As the long day wore on, fatigue risk climbed.
Hyundai’s morning counterpunch landed hard. Neuville topped SS3, with Tänak and Fourmaux right behind for a Hyundai 1-2-3. Rovanperä responded with the SS4 win. After Pajari and Katsuta, Tänak sat fourth overall and noted, "This balance we have is quite a good luck challenge.....More cornering, difficult stage. I tried." At lunchtime, Fourmaux held P3 overall and Tänak jumped Neuville for P4.
Neuville punctured after a jump miscue. Video: WRC (https://www.wrc.com)
Toyota turned the screws again in the afternoon. On the long SS5 Col de Jan, Ogier set the benchmark with Rovanperä close; everyone else bled 12 seconds or more. Neuville punctured after a jump mistake; even Hyundai’s best, Tänak, ceded 17.8 seconds to the lead. Ford’s Munster retired with suspension damage.
After the earlier puncture, Neuville then fought a loosened hood. Video: WRC (https://www.wrc.com )
Rovanperä topped SS7 Böhmerwald and trimmed the gap to leader Ogier to 0.3 second. Fourmaux impressed in P2 on the stage, but Tänak slipped to fourth overall behind Evans. Neuville’s woes continued when his hood popped slightly ajar.
Toyota’s trio stayed on top in the SS8 nightcap. Evans took the stage but couldn’t insert himself between Ogier and Rovanperä overall. Toyota locked out P1-P3 overnight with Ogier, Rovanperä, and Evans. Tänak was fourth at +32.8, Fourmaux held sixth, and a bruised Neuville was eighth.
DAY 3 — Tänak digs in to defend P2/P3
Saturday, October 18 delivered the rally’s longest mileage at 103.64 km. Germany’s brand-new high-speed SS9 “Made in FRG” led off, before crossing into Czechia for Keply and “Klatovby.” The 14.30-km Made in FRG was a true WRC clean-sheet—starting in forest, blasting onto county roads, and carrying serious pace. The Czech tests were the opposite: bumpy, narrow mountain and farm lanes with vast spectator zones teeming with fans.
With Ogier out, Tänak elevated himself to third overall. Video: WRC (https://www.wrc.com )
Rovanperä won SS9 to snatch the overall lead from Ogier by 0.7 second; Tänak was next quickest to spearhead Hyundai’s push. But the rally flipped on SS10 Keply when leader Ogier slid on wet asphalt and smacked a tree, breaking the left-front and retiring. The leaderboard reset to Rovanperä-Evans-Tänak—and the title picture changed shape. Fourmaux, just seventh on the stage, second-guessed his tire call: “I have no confidence in the grip and the tyres. I think the soft tyres worked better than the rain tyres. These are the wrong choice at the moment.”
SS11 Klatovby ran mainly dry with little mud or leaf litter. Katsuta went fastest, with Tänak chasing at +1.4—but the overall gap to leader Rovanperä still stood at 40.5 seconds.
Back to Keply for SS12 and Tänak lit it up—stage win, 0.8 quicker than Rovanperä—and he overhauled Evans by 1.9 to grab second overall. Cautious note from Tänak afterward: “We tried, of course, but we’re hearing some strange noise from the gearbox.” Fourmaux held fifth; Neuville seventh.
SS13 fell to Katsuta again, with Tänak second to widen his cushion over Evans. Tänak on the test: "Very very fast, mostly high grip stage. From my side, all I could (do)."
Video: WRC (https://www.wrc.com )
Neuville topped SS14 to close Saturday, with Tänak right there to nail down second overnight. Gaps: Rovanperä led by 36.3 over Tänak, who had stretched the margin to Evans to 8.4.
DAY 4 — Tänak banks the podium and keeps the chase alive
Sunday, October 19 featured two stages run twice. The opener, Beyond Borders, was a shortened version of last year’s test—now 12.37 km—starting in Germany and crossing into Austria. Mühltal, used for SS16 and Power Stage SS18, returned after a year off, trimmed to 26.52 km with a reworked final sector.
Even so, it was still the rally’s longest test. In the dry it’s quick; in 2023 its mud and gravel patches made grip a moving target. The broad grass verges become treacherous soap when it rains. Four stages totaled 77.78 km on the final day.
Neuville struck the bridge parapet hard on a narrow crossing. Video: WRC (https://www.wrc.com)
SS15 produced a shocking shunt: Neuville hammered a narrow bridge parapet and retired with heavy front-end damage. Thankfully, he and his co-driver were unhurt. The incident forced cancellation of the stage; only Ford’s Munster and McErlean received real times, while notional times were issued to the rest. Toyota’s Manufacturers’ crown was, for all practical purposes, sealed.
Neuville on the moment: “I think the pace note was just a bit too fast and it was very narrow. I turned and I understeered on the entry, and the corner turned a bit more than I expected and it was too late — there was no time to react. It was quite a big impact. It is painful but we will have a check now.”
Tänak later made a mistake at the same spot where Neuville crashed. Video: WRC (https://www.wrc.com )
Ogier reasserted himself with the SS16 stage win. Tänak, among the trio fighting for the podium, posted the slowest of the three and saw his 8.4-second buffer over Evans shrink to 5.2. Ogier dominated again on SS17 to hoover up “Super Sunday” points, while Tänak lost time with a miscue at Neuville’s crash site. The P2-P3 gap? Just 1.1 seconds. SS18’s Power Stage set up a knife-edge finish.
Ogier topped the Power Stage Mühltal as well, banking the full 10-point Sunday haul and softening the blow of his SS9 retirement.
Overall victory went to Kalle Rovanperä. After a sluggish first half of the season, his third win drags him back toward Evans and Ogier. Evans edged past Tänak for second, leaving the Estonian to pocket the final podium spot. The championship math: Evans moved back to the top on 247, with Ogier and Rovanperä only 13 behind. Tänak’s 16-point haul keeps the embers glowing—he’s 50 off the lead. With two rounds left, he needs big results—now.
The 2025 WRC season has two finales remaining: Round 13 runs November 6–9 in Japan on sealed surfaces, followed by the inaugural Saudi Arabia Rally, November 26–29, to close out the year.
Written by: Soo-jin Lee
In 1991, Lee’s passion for cars led him to enthusiastically write letters to the newly launched Korean car magazine Car Vision. This unexpected connection led him to start his career as an automotive journalist. He has served as editor and editorial board member for Car Vision and Car Life, and now works as an automotive critic. While eagerly covering the latest trends like electric vehicles, connected cars, and autonomous driving technology, he is also a car enthusiast who secretly hopes that the smell of gasoline engines will never disappear.
