Neuville will be the first car on the road for Friday’s special stages. If the weather remains dry, he faces the unfavourable task of being the road sweeper.
During his first run on the shakedown, Neuville slipped his Hyundai into a ditch when the loose gravel caught him out in a fast left-hand corner.
Neuville’s Hyundai veered off the road but, fortunately, he avoided hitting a tree and was able to continue. The car returned to the road at speed, sending the wooden anti-cut poles flying.
Watch the video of Neuville’s moment below.
When Neuville reached the end of the stage, the roof air intake of his car was adorned with a spruce branch.
“We found where the limits are – now we know,” Neuville smiled.
“It’s going to be tough for us, that’s for sure. We are going to try our best. We tried now and found the limit. We really need to be careful because, in these conditions, the grip is on and off, so it won’t be easy,” the Belgian added.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak set the fastest time on the first pass of the shakedown stage. He beat his teammate Esapekka Lappi by 0.6 seconds. Neuville was third, just a tenth behind Lappi.
The shakedown for the Rally Latvia is still ongoing. The opening super special stage of the competition will take place on Thursday evening.
