During
Acropolis Rally, many discussions have been made if Hyundai should or not
decide team orders which would be in favor of Ott Tanak and against Thierry
Neuville. In this blog, we will examine why Julien Moncet was in such a
difficult position in Greece.
First of all, Thierry Neuville
has been a Hyundai driver since 2014 when the Korean brand rejoined WRC. This
fact proves that the Belgian is very dedicated and loyal to his team. He has
spent many hours developing all the i20s that were in WRC since 2014 and has
delivered many wins and podiums to the Koreans, so let’s say he can be
considered as the #1 driver of Hyundai. Before his victory in Greece, the last
time that he was at the highest place of the podium was at Rally Spain eleven
months ago, so Acropolis win was for his prestige as he has the winning form
and he proved that in Belgium last month despite his crash on Saturday. Last
but not least, right now, he is the highest paying driver, not only among his
teammates, but also among the grid, which means that Hyundai has invested many
moneys in him.
On the other hand, Ott Tanak is a WRC Champion
as he clinched his first title in World Rally Championship in 2019, so let’s
say he has the upper hand in comparison with the Belgian who still has not put
his name in the list with the WRC Champions. In addition to that, statistically
Tanak has greater chances to fight with Kalle Rovanpera for this year’s
championship as their gap is at 53 points whereas Neuville is 76 points behind
the Toyota driver at the end of Acropolis Rally. However, the strangest
statement from last weekend was made by Julien Moncet who said that Hyundai did
not want to lose a 1-2-3 finish and Tanak should keep his second place. This
statement is unconvincing, because the Korean team still could secure a top
three finish, even if Neuville swapped his position with Tanak (the position
swap could have happened at the end of Acropolis Rally at the Service Park
where Neuville could take penalty if he was late for the last scrutineering or
before a stage end where Neuville could slow down just few meters before the
finish line). But it seems that Hyundai forgets that the Estonian has won three
rallies so far this season and one of them was Rally Finland, a rally that the
Alzenau team has never won before and Tanak broke the domination of Toyota
there this year.
Since Ott Tanak is closer to
Kalle Rovanpera on the drivers’ championship, is already a WRC Champion and
broke the curse of Hyundai in Finland, the Koreans should treat him like he deserves
to be treated and should have sacrificed Thierry Neuville in Greece. But now,
Hyundai made Tanak’s work more difficult as he could have a 46-point instead of
a 53-point gap with the championship leader after Acropolis Rally. And, if
Neuville’s problem was about keeping the trophy for the first place, he should
make an agreement with Tanak for that. The main problem for Hyundai is that it
has two #1 drivers, but the team should change its mindset if they want to win
the drivers' championship as well some time in the future and it would be no
weird if Tanak moves to M-Sport Ford next year as this is speculated since
Ypres Rally Belgium.
Photo Credits: Hyundai
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