The Belgian pilot Thierry Neuville (Hyundai i20), five-time world runner-up, is closing in on its first title and will achieve it this week at Central European Rallywhich takes place between Thursday and Sunday on asphalt roads in Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany.
The Belgian reached the twelfth and penultimate test of the season with a 29 point lead about his teammate and 2019 champion, the Estonian Ott Tänak; and 41 and 46 compared to two Toyota team drivers, the eight-time French champion Sébastien Ogier and the British Elfyn Evans.
After five years (2013, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019) close to the title, Neuville can now end the wait if he beats Tänak by two points in the Central European Rally, while ensuring no more than 10 respects to Ogier and 15 about Evans.
Neuville and his co-driver, Martijn Wydaeghe, won the inaugural edition of this rally last year. The Belgian leads a Hyundai team that also includes Tänak and Norwegian Andreas Mikkelsen, who will drive the South Korean brand’s other two cars.
“The main goal is to manage our championship to score as many points as possible. Of course we want to have that title in our pocket, but our first goal is to have a consistent race,” the Belgian said in statements released by the Hyundai team.
Ogier, currently third in the standings, is part of Toyota’s four-car team with Evans, Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta and rising young Finnish talent Sami Pajari.
The M-Sport Ford team lined up three Puma Rally1 units for Frenchman Adrien Fourmaux, Luxembourgish Grégoire Munster and Greek Jourdan Serderidis.
The rally, which starts this Thursday in Prague, consists of 18 stages and 302.51 timed kilometers and ends on Sunday in Passau (Germany). The race base is located in Bad Griesbach (Germany).
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
