Showing posts with label Thierry Neuville. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thierry Neuville. Show all posts
Tuesday, 28 July 2026
Thursday, 7 May 2026
WHY WRC DRIVERS EXPECT PORTUGAL TO DELIVER A RALLY THAT HAS “EVERYTHING”
The first pure gravel rally of the season looks set to be one of the most demanding and unpredictable of the season
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| Oliver Solberg, Elliott Edmondson, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Photo by: Toyota Racing |
Rough gravel stages, long periods without service, changeable weather and increased competition will make Rally Portugal a challenge that will have “everything”, according to World Rally Championship drivers.
The first pure gravel rally of the season looks set to offer up one of the biggest tests of 2026 for crews and teams, and perhaps the hardest-fought rally of the campaign to date.
The reason is down to a number of factors that have combined to make this edition of Rally Portugal particularly challenging.
Rally organisers have made changes to the itinerary this year following criticism from drivers after a packed Friday leg that saw drivers spend 15 hours behind the wheel. It prompted the FIA to introduce mandatory rest periods for 2026. A minimum of 10 hours per day must be dedicated to rest, with one leg featuring at least 12 hours.
As a result, Rally Portugal has now added an extra day of competition to avoid a repeat of last year. While the rally distance remains more or less the same – 344km of stages and approximately 1500km of road sections – it will be spread across four days more evenly.
“There will be everything I think. It is not like Africa, but here the speed is higher. I would expect a very close battle and changing positions," Toyota’s Oliver Solberg told Motorsport.
“I think a lot can happen with punctures and tyres. We don’t have a lot of tyres so tyre wear will be tricky. I think this will be a big topic on Friday and then we will have rain on Saturday and Sunday, so we will have everything.”
The speed-versus-preservation battle
Crews will have to navigate through Thursday’s three stages and Friday’s seven tests without a return to the service park for a full service. The legs will only be punctuated by remote services where minimal repairs can be carried out, which will increase the emphasis on finding the right balance of speed and preservation on the rough gravel stages, where the puncture risk is high.
“It is already a very tough rally, and the format – especially Thursday and Friday when you don't have so much support from going to service areas – you have to play the long game,” M-Sport’s Jon Armstrong told Motorsport. “You can’t afford to be too cautious but for sure you want to be as fast as you can be. You need to keep some margin so you don’t abuse the car or damage something.”
On the whole, the drivers see the itinerary change as an improvement from last year, but it has meant the pre-event recce has resulted in the crews doing 700km a day from Monday to Wednesday to prepare the all-important pace notes.
“It is still long but not really in stage kilometres. It is the thing you want to try and avoid, but it is what it is. It is more sensible than last year,” said Toyota’s Elfyn Evans.
Toyota team-mate Sami Pajari added: "I think this year there will be a little bit more rest time, so that is good.”
Increased competition as Hyundai rejoins the fight
There is a very high chance that this will be the most hotly-contested rally of the season so far, as Hyundai appears to have a package to take the fight to rivals Toyota.
The Korean marque challenged for the victory at this event last year with both Ott Tanak and Adrien Fourmaux before suffering mechanical issues.
Hyundai has since made improvements to its i20 N Rally that has so far struggled this year, and a new engine upgrade should offer a further boost this weekend. Thierry Neuville, who topped Wednesday’s shakedown, expects this will be the first rally of the year where he can properly fight for Hyundai’s first win of the year. It is a view shared by their rivals Toyota.
“On paper in shakedown you can see the performance is there and they [Hyundai] were the fastest last year,” Ogier told Motorsport.
“Ott was clearly the fastest driver here last year and without his problem he would have won the rally. Like always, rallying is about speed but consistency, and let’s see what happens. But on pure speed I think they can definitely be a competition for us.”
Rain showers expected to shake up the order
It is highly likely that after two dry, gruelling days on Thursday and Friday, rain showers will arrive on Saturday and Sunday to add even more spice to the mix.
The arrival of rain will offer those starting at the top of the road order a reprieve from sweeping duties, but it will create even more treacherous conditions and increase the possibility for mistakes. With crews limited to 16 soft tyres, preserving rubber throughout the rally will also be key to victory.
“The approach we will not change but of course we want to be better [than last year],” said championship leader Evans, who will open the road on Thursday, having had the same duty last year.
“But sometimes your hands are also quite tied. For sure we want to do as well as we can and maybe with the weather looking unstable it will not help us at the start of the rally, but it might keep things open even if the start is difficult.”
Hyundai’s Neuville added: "I think overall road conditions will not really help us here this weekend but it will not penalise us either. I think the fight is on. The weather will be critical and demanding, and it might turn the leaderboard around, and hopefully it plays in our favour.”
- Tom Howard
Thursday, 12 March 2026
THIERRY NEUVILLE IN DEEP TROUBLE - RELIEF IN SIGHT?
Thierry Neuville’s World Rally Championship season has not started in particularly bright fashion.
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| Thierry Neuville. Photo: Helena El Mokni/Hyundai Motorsport GmbH |
After two rounds, the 2024 world champion sits only fifth in the standings. The gap to championship leader Elfyn Evans has already stretched to 39 points.
The performance of Hyundai’s Rally1 car was nowhere near Toyota’s level in the opening rounds of the season. That has caused major frustration for Neuville, whose results were modest in Monte Carlo and Sweden.
Neuville is hoping to ease his frustration this weekend in Kenya. In Safari Rally, outright performance is often less important than simply staying out of trouble. If a driver can bring the car to the finish without major damage, the result can be very strong.
“On this rally everybody has the same chance of winning and doing well. So we think we have good chances for a good result,” Neuville said.
“But we also know that in the past we have had some struggles over here. So the target is to avoid those problems. And then we’re going to see where we end up,” the Belgian star added.
The WRC stars are set to face quite an adventure in Kenya once again. Due to the heavy rain in recent weeks, the special stages are in extremely demanding condition.
“Conditions on recce were quite extreme and very changeable as well. And that’s what we’re going to expect also for the weekend. So it will be a big compromise between speed, reliability and just having a good feeling,” Neuville said.
Forecasts suggest that more rain could arrive on the stages during the weekend, increasing the level of difficulty even further.
“When the rain arrives, the stages are basically flooded immediately. Especially this year, most sections are already very rutted due to the rain in the past weeks. Then the ruts are immediately full of water and you basically can’t drive in the ruts. If you go out of the line, you go into the mud and it doesn’t make it much better. You basically lose control of the car and you just try to get through,” Neuville explained.
Safari Rally begins on Thursday afternoon with the first two special stages.
- Toni Heinonen
Monday, 9 March 2026
Friday, 7 November 2025
DID HYUNDAI BOSS ADMIT OTT TÄNAK'S DEPARTURE FROM THE TEAM? - "HE IS A CHALLENGE AT THE MOMENT"
There has been much speculation in recent months about the future of Hyundai’s Estonian WRC driver, Ott Tänak.
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| Andrew Wheatley. Photo: Romain Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport |
There has been speculation that the 2019 world champion is once again eyeing a move towards Toyota, as Kalle Rovanperä is set to end his rally career, at least for now, after this season. With Rovanperä’s decision, a lead driver’s seat will become available at Toyota, although Oliver Solberg is also likely to be in contention for the same spot.
After his championship win, Tänak moved to Hyundai, a team he has represented with the exception of one season when the Estonian joined M-Sport for the 2023 campaign. Toyota has, however, once again demonstrated its superiority this year, and Hyundai has not been able to match the Japanese manufacturer’s pace in its development work. Hyundai’s motorsport boss, Andrew Wheatley, admits that negotiations with Tänak regarding next season are still ongoing.
“I think we’re still in negotiation at the moment. I think we’re getting very close to the end of the year, and we need to understand exactly what the situation is. But from my perspective, it’s not fixed, and there’s still work to do. We have to understand how we can sort that out quickly,” Wheatley told.
According to Wheatley, Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux are certain to continue with Hyundai. The team would gladly keep Tänak in its ranks as well, but the decision rests with the Estonian.
“He’s the one that’s the challenge. I think the other two guys are clearly committed to the program, but clearly there’s still work to do. And I think from our perspective, it’s not so much about what the what we can do as a team. It’s more about what Ott has in the rest of his life going on,” Wheatley summed up.
“These guys are travelling all the time . When you’re travelling from test to rally, test to rally, test to rally, and you turn around and realise your family is getting bigger. It’s not easy to do that. And these people are driven to win. We would love to have him in the team. He is absolutely the we think the best person to go and fight with Thierry and Adrian. But it’s absolutely his decision.”
It is surely Hyundai’s poor results that have led Tänak to consider his future. At this weekend’s Rally Japan, Hyundai is once again a clear underdog. The focus has already shifted firmly towards next year.
“This weekend is about the development process. We drove a lot on the shakedown stage this morning to better understand how the car behaves in different conditions. We need a great deal of data to optimise our car’s performance,” Wheatley explains.
“This car is only six months old, and we began its development in the middle of the season. That is never easy. We know that the Toyota drivers fighting for the championship will be tough to beat here. We have to make sure we keep improving step by step.”
- Aki Hietavala
Wednesday, 7 August 2024
Monday, 3 June 2024
Wednesday, 24 April 2024
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