Neuville buoyed by Hyundai’s gravel pace

Thierry Neuville believes Hyundai's upgraded i20 N Rally1 proved its potential on gravel during Vodafone Rally de Portugal – even if the final result didn’t reflect the car’s outright speed.

Portugal marked the first gravel outing for the significantly revised i20 N Rally1 after Hyundai chose to run its previous-specification car in the Safari Rally back in March.

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The new version features a reduced overall weight and improvements to the suspension and transmission, implemented using homologation jokers over the off-season.

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Neuville brought his car home fourth in Portugal after spinning on the opening stage and struggling with rear-end grip throughout the early legs. Meanwhile, teammates Adrien Fourmaux and Ott Tänak showcased the car’s pace, with Tänak in particular dominating large sections of the rally and claiming 12 stage wins.

Tänak had been on course to score Hyundai’s first win of the season before a power steering issue curtailed his charge. He ultimately finished second, just 8.7sec behind Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier.

Despite finishing off the podium, Neuville came away encouraged by the progress shown and already has ideas for unlocking even more performance.

“I think the car was fast. I was using a different setting, especially at the front compared to Ott, so I will try this as well to see how it performs, and maybe this is the little thing that is missing to go as fast as Ott,” said the Belgian.

"There was not a big struggle, to be honest. I was struggling a bit with the rear of the car as it was a bit loose, but overall, the performance was there, and the times were good. I think overall, we can be satisfied. There are a few things I will try before Sardinia to get a bit more speed from the car, because driving-wise we were absolutely on it, and sometimes, for my liking, taking too many risks. So if we can find that little bit more performance, we will be a bit more comfortable in Sardinia and benefit from the road position,” he added.

Neuville’s result helped him claw back 10 points from championship leader Elfyn Evans. He now sits 40 points adrift of the Welshman heading into next week’s Rally Italia Sardegna set for 5 to 8 June.

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