Thierry Neuville insists his first focus is on delivering a «consistent run» at this week’s Central European Rally as the Hyundai driver closes in on a maiden World Rally Championship crown.
Neuville heads into the WRC’s penultimate round, spread across the asphalt roads in the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany, with a 29-point lead over nearest rival and team-mate Ott Tanak.
The Belgian will secure a first WRC title if he can extend the margin beyond 30 points this weekend, with only one round of the season remaining in Japan next month.
The odds appear to be in Neuville’s favour who won the Central European Rally last year and will start this year’s edition with the advantage of opening the road as championship leader.
Last weekend Neuville aided his preparations for the rally by participating in the Herbst Rallye in Austria, where his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 was one of the course cars.
While the prospect of a career-defining world title is edging closer, Neuville says his main focus is to ensure he performs consistently this week.
«Last year we had a great victory at the very first Central European Rally. We know we usually perform well on tarmac and winning in Germany was super cool for the whole team,» said Neuville.
Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Photo by: Vincent Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport
«Despite difficult conditions, we performed well But because of the stage changes we need to do some video work, so we will be studying those as much as possible to get a good feel of the new areas.
«The main goal is to manage our championship so we can take as many points as possible. Of course, we would like to get that title in our pocket, but our first focus will be having a consistent run.»
Neuville’s Hyundai team will however be eager to issue a response to Toyota’s Rally Chile performance that reduced the deficit in the manufacturers’ title race to 17 points.
«We need to maintain our lead in all three championships, and a clean performance at Central European Rally is essential in eventually bringing them home,» said Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul.
«Thierry won here last year, and we know how strong he is on the tarmac, so anything is possible across the weekend. As well as the push for the drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles, we also have the fight for the manufacturers’, and we have three strong crews fighting for that too.
«We want to leave CER having taken advantage of our road positions and made the most of the weekend – something we could not do in Chile.»