The World Rally Championship lands in Belgium with the premiere of the Ypres Rally, asphalt appointment in which Thierry Neuville acts as host. The Hyundai driver competes at home, in front of his audience. And he does it with the pressure of being before his last and great opportunity to reengage in the fight for the title. In an even more compromised situation comes Ott TänakAlthough the Estonian has in his favor that he no longer has anything to lose. Irishman Craig Breen completes the brand’s official bet at the Ypres Rally at the controls of the third Hyundai i20 WRC Coupé.
Thierry Neuville has 52 points less than Sébastien Ogier, which is why the Belgian urgently needs to win on the asphalt sections of his native country: «We are all looking forward to competing in the Ypres Rally. It is a test that I have already done in the past. Also, I got the win in 2018 in the Hyundai i20 R5. It is a challenging test with narrow and slippery roads. The gutters are deep so no mistakes can be made. I think we are going to see a lot of action because it is an event unlike any other asphalt rally we have had so far.
Ott Tänak He must not only win the Ypres Rally, but wait for the failure of the drivers who are ahead in the overall WRC: «I have seen some pictures of Ypres and it is obviously a very famous rally. Even though the roads appear straight, there are dangerous ditches that make it incredibly difficult. We managed to do a one-day trial before the event was canceled last year and we already thought it would be a challenging weekend. It will be our first round of the WRC on tarmac since Croatia, which was not a particularly comfortable rally for us.
Craig breen completes Hyundai’s commitment to the Belgian stages: «Ypres is one of the events that I like the most. I’ve been lucky enough to do it several times throughout my career and the last time I was there in 2019 we managed to win. It is definitely one of the most interesting and special rallies I have ever done.. On paper, it seems like a strange event profile, but when you’re in the car it’s an amazing challenge. In practically all crossings, the surface is a little different. It is an event that I really look forward to and it is a rally worthy of the status of the World Rally Championship.