Toyota dominated the championship battle for much of the year, while Hyundai managed only one rally victory.
That single success came thanks to Thierry Neuville at the Rally Portugal.
Hyundai's struggles were most noticeable on asphalt; however, according to the Belgian driver, the rest of the season offers plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
All remaining WRC races will be run on gravel; the Estonia Rally and the Finland Rally are next on the calendar.
Neuville believes the change in ground conditions could also help Hyundai turn the season around.
“"Only dirt rallies remain"”
“It’s encouraging. It’s encouraging for the team to see that the speed is there; and it’s also encouraging to know that only gravel rallies remain,” said Neuville.
However, the reigning world champion quickly reminded everyone that last year's performances were no guarantee of similar success this season.
“Now we’re returning to fast gravel rallies. We were competitive last year.”
“Now we need to see how our pace is this year. There’s no guarantee we’ll be as competitive as last year, but hopefully we’ll be even better,” said Neuville.
The championship resumes in mid-July with the Rally Estonia. According to Neuville, the calendar will be extremely busy from that point on; Hyundai will begin its testing program shortly after the finish of the Rally Greece.