Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe have secured the first FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ and Co-drivers’ titles for Hyundai Motorsport at Rally Japan on the weekend in a fitting finale to an exciting 2024 season.

The Belgian Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team crew has led the 2024 championship standings since the opening round of the year, underscoring their consistent season in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid in which they have scored 2 wins, 6 podium finishes and 49 stage victories.

Neuville and Wydaeghe made the perfect start to their championship-winning campaign with an emphatic win at Rallye Monte-Carlo, before making the most of the new FIA WRC scoring system in Sweden and Kenya to maintain a slim lead in the standings.

Back on tarmac in Croatia, Neuville and Wydaeghe again demonstrated their rally-winning potential, leading for 15 of 20 stages. A final day incident cost them the victory, however their hard work up to that moment secured them the points they needed to remain at the top of the standings – and to claim third place overall. 

A second consecutive podium finish followed in Portugal as the FIA WRC began a run of seven back-to-back gravel events. Another third place saw the Belgians really gain momentum in the championship fight, extending their advantage to 24 points. Retirement from second place at Rally Italia Sardegna could have proved costly, but Neuville and Wydaeghe dug deep to dominate Super Sunday and maintain first place, with their closest rivals now team-mates Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja. 

After three fast gravel events in Poland, Latvia and Finland, Neuville and Wydaeghe held a 27-point advantage over Sebastién Ogier and Vincent Landais, who had moved ahead of Tänak and Järveoja. However, an incredible podium sweep in Greece, led by the Belgians, saw them grow this even further, with Tänak and Järveoja reclaiming second in the standings. Neuville and Wydaeghe survived an intense Rally Chile to bring home fourth place, and more valuable points. At the team’s home event, the Central European Rally, the Belgians finished in third overall to head into Japan with a 25-point lead over their Estonian team-mates.

It was not plain sailing for the crew at the final event of the year. While starting Friday on an ideal note with a stage win, Neuville and Wydaeghe then suffered a technical issue that dropped them out of the points-scoring positions on Friday. An incredible comeback on Saturday vaulted them back to seventh, and they began Sunday requiring just two points to keep Tänak and Järveoja at bay. In a bittersweet twist, the Estonians crashed on the first stage of the morning – confirming Neuville and Wydaeghe as champions.

For Neuville, his debut FIA WRC drivers’ title is the culmination of 11 seasons with Hyundai Motorsport. The Belgian has been instrumental in the team’s successes in FIA WRC, from the very first podium at Rally México and debut win at Rallye Deutschland in 2014, to the two manufacturers’ titles in 2019 and 2020. Together, Hyundai Motorsport and Neuville have built a solid working relationship – one of the longest in the FIA WRC – that has seen him finish as vice-champion four times and claim 21 victories, 62 podiums and 380 stage wins.

Thierry Neuville said: “To be standing here as the 2024 FIA WRC drivers’ champion is a dream come true. I have to start by thanking my team of 11 years: I couldn’t have done this without you. We have finished runners-up many times, but we never gave up hope that our time would come. I would also like to congratulate and thank Martijn; it has been incredible four seasons together and we have built a strong partnership in the cock-pit.”

Martijn Wydaeghe said: “There are a lot of emotions at the moment, and we don’t quite realise what we have done. This weekend we showed that our best strength is our mental resilience. Despite a setback on Friday, we kept believing in ourselves and the team. They got the car working again for us that we could be on the pace today. All season, we have had our own strategy and it really paid off – never giving up, focusing on a strong Sunday, and this made us world champions. Thank you to everyone at Hyundai Motorsport, both in the service park and back at Alzenau.”

Hyundai Motorsport president and team principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “We started the season with one clear mission: to win the drivers’ and co-drivers’ championships. I’d like to say a huge congratulations to Thierry and Martijn on their phenomenal achievement in realising that target. Their unrelenting determination has been evident, and their first titles are well deserved. I would also like to extend my congratulations and gratitude to everyone in the team for their individual efforts in this latest success for Hyundai Motorsport. Finally, I’d like to say a word about Thierry on the realisation of his lifelong dream. It is the reward for years of dedication, resilience, and hard work to compete at the pinnacle of the sport. His attitude at the start of the weekend embodied his fantastic team spirit, and reflects the contribution he has made to Hyundai’s success over the past 11 seasons. He wanted to do everything he could to help us in the manufacturers’ championship, even while fighting for his own. He is a worthy champion.”

The 2024 FIA World Rally Championship had one final twist on Sunday morning when Neuville and Wydaeghe were confirmed champions following the retirement of Tänak and Järveoja – with four stages still to contest in Rally Japan.

Until that point, Tänak had led the rally for 14 of the 16 stages at the season finale and was 38 seconds ahead of his nearest rival, but a mistake on SS17 Nukata 1 saw his hard work undone. The Estonian crew came across unexpectedly slippery conditions and went off the road, causing rally-ending damage to his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid.

With Tänak’s 18 provisional points forfeited by his retirement, the gap between Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team and Toyota in the manufacturers’ fight was now precarious. Newly crowned champion Neuville focused his efforts on going flat out for the final four tests alongside team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen, who had scored a stage win on SS17 to take an early lead of the Super Sunday standings.

On the first run of SS18 Lake Mikawako – the dress rehearsal for the Power Stage – Neuville led Mikkelsen in a Hyundai Motorsport 1-2 in stage. A second stage victory on SS19 Nukata saw the Belgian move to the top of the Super Sunday standings with Mikkelsen second, but Hyundai Motorsport and Toyota were now neck-and-neck on points in the championship.

Neuville and Mikkelsen would trade places in the Super Sunday classification following the Toyota Stadium super special stage, with an eight-second gap to the nearest competitor heading into the decisive Power Stage. It was a stage fitting for such a competitive season, with both Hyundai Motorsport drivers giving it their all. While Neuville was second quickest, earning four additional points, Mikkelsen made a small mistake and finished fifth overall. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough to confirm the manufacturers’ championship, which was decided by just three points.

The 2024 season has been a momentous year for Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team. As well as clinching its first FIA WRC drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles, the Alzenau-based outfit claimed its most amount of points in a single season (561) and equalled its 2022 record for most wins in a season (5). The team also claimed 15 podium finishes, 4 double podiums, and 90 stage wins across the 13 rounds.

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe

Neuville said: “What a fantastic day. Words cannot describe how we are feeling. I think we deserved the title after such a challenging year. We had a lot more pressure than we would have liked coming to this final event, but we managed our weekend as best as we could with the problems we had. After the first stage and the titles were confirmed, we were able to relax a bit and push as hard as we could for the manufacturers’ fight. We went flat out with nothing to lose – we really wanted to bring home that crown for the team, as they really deserved it. Sadly, it wasn’t enough this time but everyone in the team should be incredibly proud of the work they have done this year.”

Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja

Tänak said: “It is difficult to describe what happened other than complete disaster. We weren’t expecting slippery conditions in the corner and as soon as we arrived, the front washed out. It was too far off the road to recover the car. While we are disappointed to end the season this way, we have to recognise what a great season this has been for Thierry. He has been very consistent, managing the pressure well, and he is a worthy champion.”

Hyundai Motorsport president and team principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “This has been a very eventful rally. We arrived knowing that one of our drivers would be champion, but the manufacturers’ title was anything but certain and unfortunately we missed out by a small margin. It’s been an intense and fantastic season-long battle with Toyota, and once again on tarmac this weekend we had the pace to be a real threat to them. Despite leading the majority of the rally, with two accidents and a turbo charger issue we gave them too many opportunities to catch us, and ultimately their pace on the Power Stage was too strong for us to match. Congratulations to everyone at Toyota for a fantastic season; we look forward to doing battle again in 2025 and hopefully taking another step up to compete toe-to-toe with them at an incredibly competitive level. Finally, my thanks to everyone at Hyundai Motorsport for their hard work and determination in an incredible year. Together, we have shown much improved reliability and performance on the world stage and achieved a milestone in winning Hyundai’s first FIA WRC drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles.”

Final results Rally Japan
  

Super Sunday results – Rally Japan
  

Final Manufacturers’ Championship standings
 

Final Drivers’ Championship standings