Thierry Neuville says everyone working on his side of the Hyundai Motorsport garage is in no doubt about what the target is as preparations intensify for this weekend’s Safari Rally Kenya.
Neuville shot up the World Rally Championship standings with a perfectly-timed victory on Rally Italia Sardegna earlier this month – his first of the season and since last November’s Rally Japan – to pile the pressure on current leader and 2022 champion, Kalle Rovanpera.
The Belgian is targeting a second consecutive maximum score on an event he came close to conquering when it was reinstated to the sport’s top flight back in 2021.
Then, he started the Sunday leg 57.4 seconds clear of Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta before contact with a rock on the first test damaged the rear suspension on his car and forced him into retirement soon after.
“Kenya is an adventure. It is a tough event and very challenging because we are driving through the middle of the parks and the countryside, where there are some very rough sections with sand and Fesh-Fesh [soft sand],” he said.
“Each stage has its own unique characteristics, but the changing conditions and different surfaces is what we enjoy so much about this rally.”
He added: “The goal is definitely to win, so we will keep fighting all the way through; as we know very well, the rally isn’t over until it’s over.
“We saw that two years ago when we were leading, and then, unfortunately, had an issue just before the end. Hopefully, we get the victory this year.”
Hyundai Motorsport’s Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul shares Neuville’s optimism heading into the iconic event and is keen to capitalise on the new-found momentum they enjoyed last time out on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia where Esapekka Lappi made it a 1-2 result for the squad.
“We are excited for this one – we want to have a Safari Rally Kenya to remember,” said Abiteboul.
“The profile of this event differs so greatly from the previous two, however, our Hyundai i20 N Rally1 has been excelling in rough conditions recently, so we are hoping to build on that and replicate the success we saw in Sardinia.
“The podium is the minimum target for us; we are starting to pull back the gap to our competitors, but we cannot afford to lose our momentum or our focus.
“We made good gains recently in the drivers’ standings and we need to now make that same progress with manufacturers’ points.
“We are certainly hungry to win again, and with the pace we saw in Sardinia, we are all focusing on how we can quickly repeat the result at this event,” he added.
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