RALLY ESTONIA 2026: FOURMAUX LEADS HYUNDAI CHARGE AFTER FAST-PACED OPENING DAY

FOURMAUX HOLDS THIRD AS HYUNDAI STAYS IN THE FIGHT ON ESTONIA'S HIGH-SPEED GRAVEL STAGES

Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team completed the opening leg of Rally Estonia 2026 with Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria leading the manufacturer's challenge in third overall after a demanding first day of action.

https://youtu.be/Dbh42F-pUSE

A compact Rally Estonia schedule saw crews tackle seven special stages covering more than 100 competitive kilometres after the morning shakedown. Fourmaux delivered a consistent performance throughout the day despite a moment through a grass verge after a high-speed jump on SS2. The French crew maintained their pace during the afternoon loop to secure third place overnight.

Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe ended Friday in fourth overall after overcoming several challenges. A slight contact with a hay bale on SS2, combined with understeer and limited grip in fast corners, prevented the reigning world champion from fully matching the front-runners. Despite the handling issues and minor front-end bodywork damage, Neuville remained competitive and finished the day just over nine seconds ahead of Sebastien Ogier.

Esapekka Lappi and Enni Malkonen returned to Rally Estonia for the first time since 2023 and used the opening stages to regain confidence with the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 on the fast Estonian roads. After early setup adjustments before SS6, the Finnish crew improved their pace and climbed to seventh overall following Takamoto Katsuta's misfortune.

With two demanding days still to come, Hyundai remains firmly in contention as Rally Estonia continues with its fast and technical gravel stages around Tartu.

KEY POINTS

● Adrien Fourmaux ends Friday as the highest-placed Hyundai driver in third overall.

● Seven special stages covered more than 100 competitive kilometres on the opening day.

● Fourmaux maintained consistent pace despite an early moment after a high-speed jump.

● Thierry Neuville finished fourth despite understeer, limited grip and minor bodywork damage.

● Neuville ended the day more than nine seconds ahead of Sebastien Ogier.

● Esapekka Lappi improved after setup changes and climbed to seventh overall.

● Hyundai remains in contention heading into Saturday's stages.

Crew Notes: Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (#16 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)

Strong performance from the French crew, who set top three times in six out of seven stages

Fourmaux/Coria sit 1.8s behind second-placed Oliver Solberg heading into day two

Fourmaux said: "I am very pleased to be third overnight, it has been a good fight today with Oliver [Solberg], and even with Sami [Pajari] at the beginning before he pulled away. I am happy with my driving and the car; it has been a very positive day. Maybe we should have taken some hard tyres this afternoon, which might have helped me a bit more, but there are no regrets. The feeling inside the car has been brilliant, we’re not off the pace, and it’s a dream to be competitive on stages like these."

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)

Belgian duo battled the handling of their car throughout the day but remain in touch

Solid road position for leg two as Neuville/Wydaeghe aim to make further progress

Neuville said: "It was a bit of a tough day today, but we are going to make some changes before tomorrow’s stage, we will change the transmission and see if everything is working as it should. Then we will see. Those little things, when they don’t work perfectly, can cost you a lot of time especially when you have to reduce your speed and when you don’t have complete trust in the car. We are on the limit, taking a little bit of risk over the jumps – those of us who weren’t flat last year, are basically flat this year – and it’s a tough battle out the."

Crew Notes: Esapekka Lappi/Enni Mälkönen (#4 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)

Lappi/Mälkönen come through intense opening day unscathed without major issues

Improved pace in the second loop leaves Finnish duo seventh overall

Lappi said: "The driving has not been so challenging for us today, but it has been a bit of a mystery when you look at the times. In testing, we felt really good but today we were very far away. The penultimate stage was a step in the right direction, so it was OK. We changed something with the suspension and the transmission, and it worked because my times were almost matching my team-mates. We will try to do something similar for tomorrow; it might not work for the first pass of the stages, but it might for the second pass."

Hyundai Motorsport WRC Sporting Director Andrew Wheatley said: "It’s been a good start to the rally in Estonia, with strong performances from Adrien and Thierry to currently lie third and fourth and Esapekka who had a much more positive end to the day, where he jumped from ninth to seventh in the overall classification to give him a better starting position on the road for tomorrow. We came to this event with positive expectations, with the feeling that we had a good opportunity to be competitive here and, at the end of day one, we lie in a good place. While the competition is always difficult and the rally is still long, we are in a good position for tomorrow with all three crews able to capitalise on a solid job today."

Saturday at a Glance

The longest day of the rally features a mammoth nine stages and 150km for the crews

Road position is once again set to play a significant role in the overall outcome of the rally

Classification after Day One

1 S. Pajari M. Salminen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 49:43.5

2 O. Solberg E. Edmondson Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +14.7

3 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +16.5

4 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +24.0

5 S. Ogier V. Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +33.3

6 M. Sesks R. Francis Ford Puma Rally1 +44.7

7 E. Lappi E. Mälkönen Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +46.5

8 J. McErlean E. Treacy Ford Puma Rally1 +46.6

9 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +49.8

10 J. Armstrong S. Byrne Ford Puma Rally1 +1:04.3