Thierry Neuville achieved the first world title of his career last year, but this season defending the championship has not been going to plan.
But the team’s season has also been full of difficulties. That is evident from the fact that, of the Hyundai drivers, only Ott Tänak still has any sort of realistic chance of the title at this point. The Estonian star too, however, is already 18 points behind championship leader Elfyn Evans.
Hyundai’s season has also contained a great deal of misfortune and technical problems. Punctures have been a constant nuisance as well.
Nevertheless, Neuville heads towards Chile in reasonably good spirits.
“We’ve had some good results at Rally Chile in the past and we are looking forward to heading back there,” Neuville said.
Neuville falling behind in the title fight also means that, at least in principle, his starting position will be better than that of the Toyota drivers. That too could bring an advantage.
“Our experience is invaluable, and we’ll be starting the rally in a good road position, so we are hoping to get some decent runs in from the start. We went into Paraguay with a car setup based on Chile, so the car should also feel more comfortable there, particularly with our familiarity with the surface,” Neuville pointed out.
But punctures or technical issues are no longer wanted. Neuville also made this completely clear.
“It’s a very demanding event on our tyres, so we need to make the right calls to get us to the end of the loops,” Neuville demanded.
