The toughest event of the WRC calendar, Safari Rally, will take place in Kenya in three weeks. Teams are not allowed to test their Rally1 cars outside Europe, so Hyundai is conducting its pre-event testing in Portugal.
Hyundai’s test road has been designed to simulate Safari Rally conditions as closely as possible. The stage also features muddy sections, which took the Belgian champion by surprise already during reconnaissance.
Neuville and his co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe’s SUV got stuck deep in the mud, requiring towing assistance to continue their journey. Neuville shared a humorous video of the incident on Instagram.
Watch the video below!
Neuville got up to speed properly on Tuesday, testing the Hyundai i20 N Rally1.
Safari Rally returned to the WRC calendar in 2021. Neuville has shown strong pace in the event but has never made it to the finish without issues.
His best result in Kenya so far is fifth place.
“We know how to go fast there. We know what the approach needs to be. Now we need to have a bit of luck as well,” Neuville previewed.
WRC2 star Oliver Solberg was also in Portugal on Tuesday, testing Toyota’s Rally2 car.
Solberg dominated the previous WRC2 round in Sweden. Safari Rally will be his second points-scoring event of the season.
The Kenyan WRC round is scheduled for 20–23 March.
