Thierry Neuville will not be idle during the World Rally Championship (WRC) break this week: the Belgian Hyundai driver will enter the Tampereen Lattiamestarit Rally on Saturday, July 25th, in preparation for the Rally Finland, which starts on July 30th. This event, held near Tampere, about 160 kilometers south of Jyväskylä, will offer Neuville a total of approximately 50 kilometers of special stages.
The lesson learned from Estonia: the problem of retention during the first crossing.
Neuville struggled with deep track issues at the Estonia Rally, which concluded last week. Speaking to DirtFish, the Belgian driver clearly defined his shortcomings: “I need more grip in the first overtaking situations. I’m looking for more confidence and a more stable balance in the first overtaking. The second overtaking goes well.” While emphasizing that deep tracks are rare in Finland and that this should improve overall grip, Neuville still considers the Tampere Rally a critical opportunity to improve his car setup: “Track issues are very rare in Finland, so overall grip should be higher; but I think we need to make good use of this weekend to improve the car.”
Fourmaux is not participating in the test, the team's internal points tie continues.
Teammate Adrien Fourmaux, who finished third at the Estonia Rally by 5.9 seconds ahead of Neuville, will not participate in this weekend's test. Fourmaux commented on the situation: “I might benefit a little from Neuville's setup, I can try it in the shakedown; but it won't completely change the car. It's a very short rally anyway, so it's not a problem.” The two Hyundai drivers are tied in the championship with 111 points each; they are 66 points behind leader Elfyn Evans. Hyundai's last victory at the Finland Rally was in 2022: that year Ott Tänak achieved one of the most striking victories in the championship battle, beating Kalle Rovanperä.
Finnish calendar
The Finland Rally will officially begin on Thursday, July 30th, with a shakedown followed by the opening stage in Harju. Neuville plans to bring the i20 N Rally1 setup to this stage, using data he will collect at the Tampereen Lattiamestarit Rally.