Hyundai has released video footage on YouTube of Neuville and Wydaeghe’s drive. Additionally, roles were reversed as Wydaeghe took the wheel and Neuville found himself in the “passenger’s seat.”
Neuville read the pacenotes to Wydaeghe, and it didn’t always go smoothly. Neuville hesitated at many points, but at least the car stayed on the road.
The idea was that the duo would create pacenotes for the Nürburgring as they would for a regular rally special stage.
Neuville’s mind went back to Central Finland as he sped around the challenging track.
“[The Nordschleife] is one of the most challenging circuits, a bit like Rally Finland but on tarmac,” Neuville tells Motorsport.com. “That is what I can compare it to. There are similarities in the pacenotes too!”
Neuville and Wydaeghe drove at the Nürburgring just two days after the Croatia Rally. The Hyundai i20 was swapped for an i30 N TCR this time, which is better suited for circuit racing.
The pair first created pacenotes in the usual way and then drove according to them. One crucial aspect had changed, however.
“Normally we are using a system in the French language, but that is hard for everyone to understand, so today we are making pacenotes in English. It is a basic system that everyone knows from the rally computer games. We are using a 1-6 system where six is the fastest,” Neuville explained.
The Nürburgring is a vast circuit area. The Hyundai duo drove the older Nordschleife section, which is still in competitive use. The track has hosted events such as the DTM series and Formula One races. F1 last visited the track in the pandemic year 2020, with the race won by Lewis Hamilton.
You can watch videos of Neuville and Wydaeghe driving at the Nürburgring below.
