Neuville has had a strong and consistent season, leading the drivers’ championship by 25 points over his teammate Ott Tänak.
The gap is significant, with only one rally remaining in the season. Unless Neuville makes a complete mess of things in Japan, he will finally be able to celebrate his first world championship title.
The target at Rally Japan is to bring home that drivers’ title and to support the team in the fight for the
manufacturers’ championship as well,” Neuville stated.
“We have done a good job on that already throughout the season, but of course if there is any opportunity where we can support those efforts, then we will, Neuville added.
The Rally Japan is expected to be challenging. Weather always has a major impact on how the asphalt rally will ultimately play out.
“In Japan, the weather and the roads make the biggest difference. They are super dirty when it’s cold, and the leaves on the road make grip very challenging. There are also some new stages, so altogether it’s going to be a very challenging event.” Neuville predicted.
Neuville has not conducted official tests before Japan but did participate in a test rally in Spain after the Central European Rally. However, that test was already focused on next year’s matters.
“We have no testing for Japan, so all of our information has been carried over from Central European Rally. We have plenty of the feedback from previous years here, so we can predict the starting set-up now before doing the fine tuning when we arrive in Japan,” Neuville explained.
