Neuville prepares for a “difficult weekend” in Türkiye

Thierry Neuville will address the Rally of Türkiye played next week with a nice lead of 23 points over Sébastien Ogier (M-Sport). Néanmoins, le pilote Hyundai aura le désavantage d’ouvrir la route dans la première étape d’une épreuve complètement nouvelle car parcouru sur un tracé inédit, alors que la Turquie célèbre son retour au calendrier du WRC after 7 years of absence.

The crews will be even more in the unknown as they have not been authorized to carry out tests on site. The Hyundai crews trained in the south of France to prepare for the 312km timed races spread over 17 special stages.

“The Turkey Rally will be a leap into the unknown for everyone, recognizes Thierry Neuville whose only participation in 2010 in a Citroën C2 S1600 ended in retirement due to mechanical problems. We're not sure what to expect for the stages, but we at least had the chance to see the videos of the courses and it looks like they're going to be very rough. »

“I'm expecting a tough weekend with our opening position on the road, adds the Championship leader. I enjoy the new rallies and new challenges, it keeps the championship interesting and offers the teams something completely new. My main objective will be to take advantage of it and obviously maintain my place as leader of the championship. »

Andreas Mikkelsen was also able to drive in Turkey by participating in the 2008 edition in a 2006 Ford Focus RS WRC with which he finished 19th. The Norwegian will try to get his first victory with Hyundai. The squad will be completed by Hayden Paddon, who also competed in the Tuqruie Rally in 2010 and who will return to the wheel of the i20 WRC for the first time since Finland.

Hyundai Motorsport dispose encore de 13 unités d’avance sur Toyota Gazoo Racing à quatre manches de la fin de saison.