WRC – Neuville trains for the East Belgian Rally

Thierry Neuville did not tremble at the East Belgian Rally, the penultimate event of the Belgian Rally Championship, where the driver Hyundai got involved with his i20 WRC in order to prepare for Rally of France-Alsace played next week. The winner of the last Rally Germany won all 13 stages to win three minutes ahead of the Ford Fiesta R5 of Cédric Cherain, the Fiesta S2000 of Hermen Kobus completing the podium ahead of Chris van Woensel (Subaru Impreza WRC ) and Vincent Verschueren (Citroën DS3 R5).

“We came to continue the development of the car in front of my audience who gave me a very warm welcome”, comments the winner of the East Belgian Rally. “We were able to test different settings before the Rallye de France. The victory brings additional motivation to the team before we go to Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin) to compete in an event of which I have very good memories (4th in 2012 with Citroën Racing and 2013 with M-Sport). The house I grew up in is just down the road and I obviously knew the stages by heart. So I was able to quickly find my rhythm and concentrate on the settings. »

Hyundai Motorsport proved that its i20 WRCs are formidable on asphalt with the double achieved by Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo during the German event. The Korean manufacturer wants to take advantage of this to optimize its performance before the Rallye de France where media interest is particularly strong. “We are still only in our first season and the East Belgian Rally was an opportunity to optimize our asphalt settings on the perilous roads of the Ardennes,” adds Alain Penasse, the Team Manager. “I am sure it will be useful for the event based in Strasbourg. Thierry has once again proven that he is fast and we feel that we have all the information we need to arrive in Alsace in the best possible shape. »