Neuville: “It will be complicated without the snow”

Thierry Neuville will seek to retain control of the WRC at the end of the second event of the season contested next week in Sweden. If the organizers of the rally have shortened the course to react to the absence of snow on the courses, the crews will have to deal with unusual conditions.

“An ideal Rally Sweden is an event with lots of snow, high embankments and icy roads. These are the perfect conditions for us to evolve quickly with all possible confidence. When the road is snow-covered, the studs provide good grip and you can go hard”, recalls the Belgian who offered the only victory of Hyundai on this event in 2018 with the i20 WRC.

“There will be visibly less snow than in previous editions and it can be complicated without snow in the special stages., adds the winner of the Monte-Carlo Rally. Our tires are very thin and they will not perform the same on dirt roads. The pace will be higher and higher without the embankments and it will become less interesting. We continue to cross our fingers that the snow will arrive. »

It will also be an expected return for Ott Tänak who stays on his exit from the road at the Monte-Carlo Rally. The Estonian will be able to regain confidence by arriving at an event he won last year at the wheel of the Toyota Yaris WRC.

“I feel better day after day since Monte-Carlo, assures the reigning world champion. We learned a good lesson and now know that we need to be more focused than ever when tackling a new section. It's always special to ride in Sweden, especially when the conditions are icy. The grip with the studded tires is very high and this provides good sensations. It will be the first time that we will compete on this surface with Hyundai, but we are still hoping for a good result. »

Hyundai will line up Craig Breen on the third i20 WRC after Sébastien Loeb withdrew.