The team's new sporting director, previously with the FIA, had a busy first week in the job on Central European Rally
Photography by Hyundai
Words by Luke Barry & David Evans
It’s barely been a week since Hyundai announced the appointment of former FIA road sport director Andrew Wheatley as its WRC sporting director.
But that week was an intense one as it included a round of the World Rally Championship (Central European Rally), so Wheatley has already learned plenty about his new home at Hyundai Motorsport.
“We just do our very best,” Wheatley told DirtFish. “What I’ve learned over this weekend is that within the team there are some very talented people, very professional people, and also some very determined people. And they’re also pretty resilient.
“I think they’re qualities that we’ll need to use to our advantage. But there’s nothing more that would help our team right now than to go to Japan and be competitive. And that’s what we really have to do.”
CER was another punishing event for Hyundai, where it was outpaced by Toyota’s GR Yaris Rally1. Ott Tänak did get his i20 on the podium in third, but lost second to Elfyn Evans on the final stage which, in Wheatley’s words, meant “a little bit of shine taken off” the weekend.
Tänak deserved more than the third place he got on CER, according to Wheatley
“Ott deserved second place,” Wheatley added, “and he put everything on the line over the whole weekend. And I think we cannot ask anything more of Ott this weekend. He didn’t get what he deserved, but that’s what we’re up against.
“We knew coming to this weekend that this rally was going to be difficult. We knew that Toyota is a very strong competitor. And, to be honest, there’s been very positive signs going forward, you know. Drivers have scored fastest times, but we just need to put all that potential together into a consistent [performance] over the duration of an event.”
Now he’s observed things very closely, Wheatley’s influence will likely be felt in the coming events as he looks to streamline Hyundai’s operation. But above all, the former M-Sport man is enjoying working for a team again.
“Absolutely, it’s been great,” he confirmed. “And it’s great coming back onto the team side because the focus is slightly different.
“I was actually quite reflective at the finish of the last stage, thinking I’m disappointed for the first time in six years. And it was actually quite a strange feeling. Because when you work in that other role, on the other side, you don’t have that emotion because you’re absolutely focused on just no emotion.
Feeling the emotions of a WRC weekend inside a team again pleased Hyundai's new recruit
“But being back in the team and having the highs and the lows, you know, when we saw Ott yesterday [Saturday] on the first stage after service, which was a tough first stage of the remotes, and watched his in-car, it genuinely was incredible to watch.
“And to see the disappointment in the whole team this afternoon when we just, just missed out on what would have been a very good result in difficult circumstances… yeah, it was funny to see the emotions, to feel that again.”
In its announcement press release, Hyundai described hiring Wheatley as a “strategic leadership move” with responsibilities such as supporting day-to-day operations and analyzing upcoming WRC regulations to help determine Hyundai’s long-term direction.
He will become the regular face of the team when dealing with the media on-event; something Hyundai Motorsport president and team principal Cyril Abiteboul was keen to address.
With plenty of his, and technical director François-Xavier Demaison’s, focus on the group’s World Endurance Championship program with the Genesis brand, Abiteboul wanted to plug a gap he felt had been left by his absence at times this WRC season.
Abiteboul told DirtFish: “Let’s not forget that we are quite a big car company with three brands, Hyundai, Genesis, but also Kia, so we’ve got lots going on, lots of projects, lots of opportunities, so we need to reflect on that.
“And also you need to reflect on the fact that, again, we didn’t have a great season, and I think we also need to constantly look into what we are doing well and what we could be improving, and I believe that my lack of availability has had some implication on the team.
“So you cannot simply look at that and do nothing: you need to do something about it, and so enhancing the strength and the depth of the management team, and in particular with people who, you know… I mean, people can always question, you know, what people have done.
“It’s a small world, it’s a small fish tank, you know, people eating and thinking, but at the end of the day, Andrew’s patience, love and commitment to rally as a sport is unquestionable. If we expect commitment from our team members, from our crews, from our drivers, you need to show that with people who’ve got the same passion and commitment.
Abiteboul described Wheatley as someone who embodies the sport
“On the top of that, as we will be looking at finding ways to build possibly the next chapter of Hyundai in rally, for me there is no-one better than Andrew who knows the ins and outs of not just the technical regulations but really the sport as an ecosystem. In particular at the point where sport is going to move from mainly manufacturer to customer, Andrew with his time at FIA, but also at M-Sport, knows exactly the sort of value chains, the stakeholders, how to make it work… So we are at the pivotal moment, and he’s the type of person who’s seen those pivotal moments elsewhere.
“And that’s what we want to do with Andrew, so Andrew is also a statement of our belief that there is a next chapter beyond 2026. It’s a belief right now, it’s not a commitment, it’s not a decision, but it’s a belief that we should be working on a new chapter and that’s what Andrew will help all of us to do.”
Abiteboul, who was brand-new to rallying when he joined Hyundai at the start of 2023, added: “Sometimes I feel that Hyundai, as a manufacturer, we’ve been a bit too disconnected from the sport. From how it works, from this decision-making process… you know, it’s a community, we need to be part of the community and that’s part of the steps that I want to take – bring experts and people who really embody also the sport.
“It’s very much what I’ve done in endurance racing, it’s totally different, but I’m trying to do a bit of the same here in WRC.”
Words:Luke Barry
Tags: Andrew Wheatley, Central European Rally 2025, Cyril Abiteboul, Hyundai, WRC
Publish Date October 22, 2025 DirtFish 
https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2025/10/pAXcJMbA-2025CER_AUS_1725-780x520.jpg October 22, 2025
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