2024.10.22 Hyundai Motorsport Team
[2024 WRC Round 11] Hyundai’s Tänak Secures Third in Rally Chile
The final gravel rally of the season, Rally Chile, proved to be especially challenging with rapidly changing grip conditions, rain, and fog. After a long and intense battle, Tänak finished in 3rd place, while championship contender Ogier was forced to retire. As a result, the race for the Drivers' Championship has now significantly shifted in favor of Hyundai's Neuville and Tänak.
The 11th round of the WRC, Rally Chile, took place in Concepción, Chile’s third-largest city, and served as the final gravel rally of the season. First included in the WRC calendar in 2019, this relatively new rally was built on the foundation of RallyMobil, a Chilean national event that began in 2000. Initially, Rally Chile was part of a South American double-header along with Rally Argentina, but this year it stands alone as the only South American event in the WRC calendar. After being canceled in 2020 due to a national referendum to change the constitution, and further delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Rally Chile returned in 2023. Interestingly, both in 2019 and 2023, it was Tänak who took the victory, making him the only driver to ever win the WRC Rally Chile. Coming off a perfect 1-2-3 finish in Greece, Hyundai had a prime opportunity to move closer to the double championship title.
The Chile Rally takes place in the vast forests of the Biobío region in central Chile, running between coastal roads near the Pacific Ocean. The gravel stages are relatively smooth and often feature banked corners, allowing for higher speeds despite the rough terrain. Since Chile is located in the Southern Hemisphere, this rally corresponds to their spring season in May, and there is always a chance of rain. This was the case in 2019, when muddy conditions reminiscent of Rally GB made for a tough event. On dry days, however, thick dust becomes an issue. Leading the pack, Thierry Neuville faced the difficult task of “road cleaning,” clearing loose gravel for those behind. Chile’s rough roads and challenging slopes make tire and brake management crucial. This year’s event consisted of 16 stages over a total distance of 306.76 km.
Hyundai Motorsport fielded championship contenders Neuville and Tänak, along with Lappi as their third entry. After the team’s dominant all-podium finish in Greece, they positioned themselves in a strong place to claim both championship titles. Neuville currently holds 192 points, with Tänak at 158 points, and Sébastien Ogier, chasing his ninth title, sits 38 points behind Neuville with 154 points. With a maximum of 30 points available per event, if Neuville can extend his lead to over 60 points after this rally, Ogier’s chances for the title would be eliminated, leaving the competition between Neuville and Tänak within the Hyundai team.
Tänak, who trails Neuville by 34 points, still has a slim chance at the title, particularly given his past victories in Chile in 2019 and last year. Lappi, meanwhile, enters his fifth event this season. Although he started the season strong with a win in Sweden, he has struggled to find consistency since.
Toyota entered four drivers: Elfyn Evans, Sébastien Ogier, Kalle Rovanperä, and Sami Pajari. Originally, Rovanperä was scheduled to compete, but with Ogier, the team’s highest-ranked driver in the championship, committing to the remaining events, plans changed. Takamoto Katsuta, who was set for a full season, was given a break while newcomer Pajari stepped in. With reigning champion Rovanperä opting for a rest, Evans and Katsuta were handed significant responsibility, though they failed to deliver. Pajari, who impressed with strong performances in Finland and Greece in a Rally2 car, now has a bigger opportunity. Toyota’s scoring lineup for this event - Ogier, Rovanperä, and Evans - arguably their strongest driver roster at this stage of the season.
M-Sport Ford fielded Adrien Fourmaux, Grégoire Munster, and promising rookie Mārtiņš Sesks, who had shown impressive performance in Poland and Latvia. Once again, Sesks would be driving the non-hybrid Puma Rally1.
On Thursday, September 26, the drivers began testing on the 6.79 km Campamento Conuco stage, located north of Concepción. This was a new stage that had not been used before. In cool, dry weather, Lappi completed all four test runs, focusing on setup and adaptation. He posted the best time at 3 minutes 14.8 seconds. Sesks, Pajari, Rovanperä, and Tänak followed closely behind. Reflecting on his difficult crash in last year’s event, Lappi said, "We got two minutes penalty so no motivation to destroy the tyres. It was a bit more enjoyable, because it was the second pass.”
On Friday, September 27th, Rally Chile kicked off at Pulperia (19.72 km), located east of Concepción. After racing through the 13.34 km stage of Rere and the 23.32 km San Rosendo, the teams would repeat the same stages in the afternoon, covering a total of 112.72 km (SS1–SS6).
As usual, championship points leader Thierry Neuville was first on the course, followed by Tänak, Ogier, Evans, and Fourmaux. All Rally1 drivers equipped soft tires, each carrying a single spare. Neuville clocked in at 10 minutes and 9.6 seconds but commented that the roads were extremely slippery; "I have zero grip, really trying to keep it on the line but it's not nice. Everywhere, it's just zero grip.” Though Ogier took the opening lead, the stage was canceled after just three cars passed by, due to safety concerns with the crowd, and the remaining drivers were given the same record as Neuville.
In SS2, Evans set the fastest time, with strong performances from Rovanperä, Pajari, and Ogier - giving Toyota a solid lead with Ogier, Evans, and Rovanperä at the top three. However, drivers continued to battle unpredictable grip levels. SS3, the 23.32 km San Rosendo stage, was the longest of the day. Ogier lost time after collision in a high-speed corner at the 4.4 km mark, resulting in a flat tire. Despite Ogier dropping down the ranks, Tänak also slipped, falling behind Pajari and Munster to 5th place. Meanwhile, Sesks suffered from back-to-back tire blowouts, putting him in a tight spot.
Perhaps wary of earlier tire troubles, teams adjusted their tire strategies for the afternoon stages. Neuville, Evans, Rovanperä, and Pajari added an extra spare, while Esapekka Lappi chose two hard compounds. SS4 saw Ogier set the fastest time, though Evans maintained his overall lead, with Tänak climbing to 2nd, breaking Toyota’s early dominance. Ogier also clocked the fastest times in SS5, yet still trailed the leader by 1 minute and 28 seconds. By the end of SS6, Evans was still leading, followed closely by Tänak just 3 seconds behind, with Rovanperä, Pajari, Munster, Neuville, and Lappi rounding out the top spots.
Saturday, September 28th, featured the 15.65 km SS7 Pelún, followed by the 25.64 km Lota and the event’s longest stage, the 28.31 km María Las Cruces. Drivers would repeat these stages in the afternoon, covering a total of 139.2 km. The lineup began with Sesks, followed by Ogier, Fourmaux, Lappi, and Neuville. Most drivers opted for hard tires with soft spares, while Fourmaux gambled with a mix of three hards and one soft.
Rain turned the opening stage into a mud bath, where Evans recorded the fastest time. Rovanperä dominated SS8. By midday, Evans had captured two stage wins, solidifying his lead, with Rovanperä moving up to 2nd. A spin cost Tänak valuable time, dropping him to 3rd, while Neuville climbed to 4th. Lappi, after losing his bumper, sat 8th, 1 minute and 39 seconds behind the leader. With Ogier retiring after SS8, Hyundai’s chances for the title increased significantly. Ogier explained that he hadn’t spotted the rock that caused his accident during reconnaissance.
Evans set the fastest time again in SS10, but dense fog shrouded SS11 Lota, where Rovanperä took the lead. Neuville cut his gap to the leader to 35 seconds and trimmed his margin behind Tänak to just 14.2 seconds.
By the time SS12 kicked off at 5 p.m., the fog hadn’t lifted. Surprisingly, Adrien Fourmaux claimed the fastest time, with Rovanperä holding the overall lead by just 0.8 seconds. Then Evans, Tänak, and Neuville followed. Fourmaux, Pajari, Munster, and Lappi were the next. Heading into Sunday, Tänak held a provisional 13 points, Neuville 10, and Lappi 3, with a chance to score up to 12 additional points on the final day (7 points for Super Sunday, 5 for Power Stage).
In the past, drivers who retired early or fell behind had little reason to push hard on Sunday. However, with the new points system, they now have the opportunity to collect significant points. Critics argue that the system is too complex, diluting the significance of a win by spreading out the scoring routes. Supporters, on the other hand, claim that it keeps the excitement alive through Sunday, ensuring thrilling competition until the very end.
Sunday, September 29th, saw racers tackle two runs through the 13.2 km Las Pataguas and 13.86 km El Poñen stages. Ogier posted the fastest time on SS13, followed by Rovanperä and Evans, who widened their gap over the chasing Hyundai duo. Ogier repeated his top performance in SS14, with Rovanperä hot on his heels. After SS14, Neuville admitted, “It's a bit on the limit to be honest, super quick stage, very bad visibility, obviously we need to keep it on the road. I need to find the line between a good rhythm and not driving too fast.”
Ogier dominated the final two stages, securing the Super Sunday points without major changes to the overall leaderboard. Lappi lost his bumper again, and Sesks shed his rear wing.
Rovanperä held onto the overall lead and secured his fourth victory of the season. His teammate Evans finished 2nd, while Tänak claimed the final podium spot in 3rd. In terms of points, Rovanperä earned 28, Evans 21, Tänak 20, Neuville 15, and Ogier 12.
In the championship standings, Neuville still leads with 207 points, followed by Tänak with 178, and Ogier with 166. While 60 points are still up for grabs, the 41-point gap makes it unlikely Ogier can catch up, setting the stage for a final showdown between Neuville and Tänak for the drivers' championship.
In the manufacturers’ standings, Toyota's 1-2 finish closed their deficit from 35 points to just 17, keeping the race too close to call. With only two races remaining—the Central European Rally from October 17th to 20th, including Germany, Austria, and Czech - and the final round at Rally Japan—the competition is more intense than ever.
By Su-jin Lee
In 1991, Su-jin 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 Automobile 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.
