The reigning world champion did not get off to a strong start in the new season, as the opening round took place last weekend. Neuville made a mistake early in Rally Monte-Carlo and eventually finished in sixth place.
For the next round, Neuville is hoping for a significantly better result. The Belgian star began his preparations for Rally Sweden on Wednesday by testing Hyundai’s i20 N Rally1 car at the team’s test site in Central Finland.
During Neuville’s test, the temperature was slightly above freezing, but he was still able to complete solid pre-event preparations for the season’s only snow rally.
See below for images from Neuville’s test day. The article continues after the images.
Hyundai is bringing an updated car to Rally Sweden, which it has been testing again this week in the Jämsä region. In addition to the improved car, Neuville should benefit from his road position in Sweden.
“We can be quite optimistic about Sweden for sure. The better road position will help us to have a better rally, but we still need to take advantage of that. So that will be our target for the upcoming event,” Neuville said at the conclusion of Rally Monte-Carlo.
Hyundai will continue its testing programme on Thursday, with the team’s new signing, Adrien Fourmaux, taking the wheel. The Frenchman was Hyundai’s best performer in Monte-Carlo, finishing third.
Rally Sweden is set to take place from 13th to 16th February, once again based around Umeå.
