Complaint helped – Thierry Neuville in the same race as Esapekka Lappi

Hyundai's Belgian star expressed frustration after Rally Poland over his teammates' better testing opportunities.
Thierry Neuville. Photo: Austral/Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
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Ott Tänak will compete this weekend in the Estonian Championship rally, driving ten special stages in a Rally1 car. Esapekka Lappi, meanwhile, will race next week in Lithuania in a 13-stage, over 103-kilometre event.

Neuville felt that he was missing out on crucial test rallies ahead of the WRC round in Latvia in a few weeks. New updates were brought to Hyundai’s Rally1 car for Poland, and the Belgian felt he did not get to grips with them.

“I try to find a solution to get some more mileage on fast roads somehow. I don’t know, if it’s possible, but would be good,” Neuville said after rally poland to RallyJournal.com.

“If I could get a bit more comfortable with the car on those roads with this new mappings and so on. A lot of struggle this weekend, but mainly the cleaning, of course. However, it’s clear that I need more time in the car on fast gravel.”

Neuville’s complaint has been heard, as his name has been added to the entry list for Rally Lietuva, which so far only includes Hyundai’s star duo. Rally Lithuania takes place around the town of Mažeikiai, near the Latvian border. The distance to the centre of Rally Latvia in Liepāja is just over 90 kilometres, so the roads are likely to be very similar.

Hyundai has also started more traditional testing for Rally Latvia. Tänak was testing on Thursday.

Watch a video of Tänak’s tests below.

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