Thierry Neuville would love to fight for a top result in Japan, but knows the car needs work first
Photography by Hyundai
Words by Luke Barry
His title defense is over, and Hyundai’s manufacturers’ quest ended in Central Europe too.
By all accounts, you’d expect outgoing world champion Thierry Neuville to be attempting absolutely anything he can to end this disappointing season on a high. After all, the Belgian is winless since last year’s Acropolis 14 months ago.
Yet Neuville appears conflicted about what he can achieve at this week’s Rally Japan – a rally he’s won in the past and of course was crowned world champion at in 2024.
His heart wants gold. His head is telling him it may be out of reach.
“We’ve definitely had some great memories in Japan,” Neuville was quoted in Hyundai’s pre-event press release. “We’re very keen to go back and target another good result, but in our current position we have to focus on improving the car and learning as much as we can from this event, rather than on a top result.”
Neuville is not known for throwing in the towel, but he knows how dominant Toyota has been
That’s as close as you’ll ever get to a rally driver writing off their chances of victory before an event. It’s clear Hyundai is acutely aware of how much stronger Toyota has been this season, particularly on Tarmac.
The tone of Hyundai WRC sporting director Andrew Wheatley’s quote was similar; far more about the i20 N Rally1’s development rather than a result.
“We’re looking to Rally Japan with a view to continue the development of our Tarmac performance, following the intensive work done before Central European Rally,” Wheatley said.
“While we can be encouraged by our steps forward in recent weeks – with both Thierry and Ott taking stage wins at CER – we need to keep the foot on the gas for this final Tarmac event of the year, and be ready for the start of the 2026 season.”
Talking to DirtFish on the pre-event recce, Neuville’s outlook hadn’t changed.
“I don’t know what to expect from the event, we will find out,” he said. “I honestly don’t know what to expect – just getting through, enjoying and try to learn some things. Maybe we can still learn something, I’m not sure, but we will see.”
The only thing left to fight for for anyone wearing a Hyundai shirt in 2025 is Ott Tänak’s drivers’ title ambitions. But the Estonian needs to outscore championship leader Elfyn Evans by a minimum of 16 points to stand any chance of staying in the fight in Saudi Arabia.
“For sure, I hope to give my best in Japan, so let’s see how it goes,” Tänak said. “Hopefully the minor changes we’ve made to the car since CER will help us get a good feeling right away to fight at the top.”
Words:Luke Barry
Tags: Rally Japan, Rally Japan 2025, Thierry Neuville, WRC, WRC 2025
Publish Date November 4, 2025 DirtFish 
https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2025/11/2025CER_RT_219-780x1170.jpg November 4, 2025
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