Gilsoul: “I feel like it’s really dangerous.”

Nicolas Gilsoul took the floor to openly criticize the decision to maintain the Rally from Sweden despite the lack of snow. If the organizers have reduced the route, the crews will have to use studded tires on roads where the surface is not or only slightly icy. The drivers will have to manage tire conservation as best as possible even if the morning shakedown showed significant degradation in a few kilometers.

“The conditions are truly deplorable, confided the co-pilot of Thierry Neuville at RTBF. I really don't want to do this rally because I feel it's really dangerous. We are forced to drive in conditions where the tire is not suitable. As a result, it's hard to really feel the grip and you have to take risks. We don't control all the parameters and we don't have the same control as usual and that bothers me a little. »

“We will have to adapt in real time with unknown conditions. With the trees and rocks a meter from the road, it's not really exciting. Usually, we have walls of snow to protect us.", added the co-pilot from Hyundai.

The absence of snow makes this Rally Sweden a mixed surface event, where dirt seems to be favored. Therefore, the position of championship leaders occupied by the Neuville-Gilsoul tandem could also be detrimental in the first stage which will include 4 special stages.

“We’re not necessarily in a good position. We saw that the road was clear this morning during the shakedown and that the times improved with each passage. I hope that this will not be what we find on the rally because we could suffer in addition to taking unnecessary risks. We are already on the edge and we will have to further reduce the safety margin. It’s a situation that I find difficult to accept because it seems unreasonable to me.”, maintained Nicolas Gilsoul.

The Rally Sweden will consist of ten special stages with the new route validated by the organizers. The event will begin this Friday with the Hof-Finnskog special from 8:42 a.m. French time. The race will be followed live with our live text.