Quote Originally Posted by mknight View Post
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Obviously we don't know and we don't have detailed telemetry or other info so we can just speculate.
In general I'd say there are two main theories:
- Yaris is "softer" and hugs the road better, so when surface is smooth it can stay low and hug the surface which together with better aero makes it faster, Hyundai is much more stable and suspension absorbs rough surface better so drivers can push harder in rough conditions without getting thrown around.
- I20 seems harder to set-up and small changes seem to do a lot (until they changed damper supplier last year they also had like 50 dampers to choose from), so after first pass they can analyze the setup and tweak it better for second runs

How much any of these is correct is hard to tell, might be it's for some other reason completely. But it's a fact that Hyundais do better on second runs (especially on gravel) and on rougher stages compared with Toyota.
I would say it's probably a combination of both of your theories.