Having led the FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ before his monster crash in Chile, Thierry Neuville has slipped to third in the points standings and needs a good result on this weekend’s Wales Rally GB to keep his title hopes alive.
Ott Tänak (Toyota) leads the WRC on 210 points, 17 points ahead of Sébastien Ogier (Citroën), while Neuville is now third, 30 points adrift of the lead. It’s not impossible to overturn such a deficit on the remaining three rounds, but the Hyundai Motorsport driver know that not only does he need a high-scoring run in Wales, Spain and Australia, but he also needs his title rivals to each have a trio of disasters to enable him to clinch his first FIA World Rally Championship title.
“Wales Rally GB can be one of the wettest rallies on the calendar, so we have to be prepared for an eventful weekend,” says Neuville. “It’s typically a very slippery event but one I enjoy. I’ve been on the podium a couple of times and I’m hoping to replicate that this year. The stages are quite flowing, very fast and we have some dark-light conditions too, which adds to the atmosphere. The itinerary is demanding with long days but it’s what Wales is known for and I’m ready for the challenge.”
Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul wear Stilo WRC DES Zero 8860 helmets.
