Thierry Neuville struggling in the Canary Islands: "I'm finding it hard to keep up with my teammates"

Since the start of this 2026 season, the deficit of Hyundai rear Toyota is striking. The Japanese brand's five-place finish in the provisional standings after SS8 of this Rally Canary Islands WRC The picture is clear: only Dani Sordo, the local favorite, is staying afloat despite a deficit of almost a minute on Sébastien OgierLast Hyundai driver in the standings, Thierry Neuville He, for his part, did not hide his difficulties.

« I had trouble keeping up with my teammates, he admitted to AUTOhebdo on Friday evening. We're ten seconds behind Adrien. The first two stages this afternoon were tricky, after a few changes. I was even slower than I was this morning. Then I made some big changes for the last stage and it's starting to get better. If we can maintain this balance, that would be great. It would probably allow us to be a bit more comfortable.

Although the Belgian driver's recent performance has improved, it seems there is still significant work to be done after this first part of the Canary Islands Rally. Certainly, experience is key in the WRC. Especially on rallies that demand endurance. There are fewer and fewer rallies like Argentina, Mexico, and even New Zealand, which we've done a few times. Dani seems to have found a setup that suited him right from the start. He was faster than Adrien and me all day long. He doesn't participate in all the practice sessions, though. We're always looking for improvement, so we try things out. But clearly, something familiar is working better at the moment. We know his setups. We're going in that direction.

This Saturday, the continuation of the events of this Iberian event can be followed throughout the day, live on autohebdo.fr.

Interview by Pierre Barré, in the Canary Islands.

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