Neuville’s i20 N was struck by a gas system difficulty at Safari Rally Kenya that ended any hopes of a podium end.
The issue resulted within the Belgian dropping greater than 10 minutes, dropping from second to fifth general. On the time Neuville, who leads Toyota’s Elfyn Evans by six factors within the championship, felt the issue wasn’t associated to the rally’s distinctive set of circumstances.
Hyundai staff principal Cyril Abiteboul says the staff has addressed and understood the issue which has resulted in adjustments forward of this weekend’s go to to Croatia’s asphalt levels.
“We’ll attempt to ensure he [Thierry] has the best automobile,” Abiteboul informed Autosport. “He had a lot of difficulty in Kenya and most of them have been properly addressed and understood.
“There is no such thing as a explicit motive to see them occur right here once more, however we additionally noticed that it was a little bit of a snowball impact from Friday. The very first thing we want is to have a clear Friday.
“We nonetheless have fairly a couple of explanations [as to what happened in Kenya]. It’s a type of issues that’s tough to utterly reproduce as soon as you aren’t in Kenya anymore with the circumstances we had there.
“We predict it [the fuel system issues] was associated to the circumstances and we have now made some adjustments and we have now made a contingency plan to ensure it doesn’t occur once more, however let’s see.”
Thierry Neuville, Hyundai World Rally Staff
Photograph by: Pink Bull Content material Pool
After profitable the one earlier WRC spherical on asphalt this yr in Monte Carlo, Neuville believes his i20 N has improved since his final yr’s outing in Croatia, the place he crashed out of the lead.
Nevertheless, he’s conscious that Toyota boasts an undefeated report on Croatia’s difficult levels for the reason that occasion joined the WRC schedule in 2021.
Neuville will pilot one in all three i20 Ns carrying a particular livery this weekend in honour of team-mate Craig Breen, who misplaced his life a yr in the past.
“We have been sturdy final yr however not that sturdy,” mentioned Neuville, who was third quickest in Thursday’s shakedown behind Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier and Evans. “We have been pushing exhausting however the automobile was not that nice, and we have been complaining so much.
“This yr we might be higher, however we have now to see how sturdy Toyota is, they’ve all the time been sturdy on tough demanding tarmac levels, they’ve received yearly.
“I really feel good within the automobile, and I believe we have now improved it however is it going to be ok, we are going to discover out.”
Whereas Neuville is seeking to prolong his championship lead, team-mate Ott Tanak says it’s “crucial” to ship a “strong weekend” to ignite his championship hopes.
Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Staff Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Photograph by: Pink Bull Content material Pool
The 2019 world champion has been absent from the rostrum within the opening three rounds, whereas errors in Monte Carlo, Sweden and Kenya have positioned the Estonian 34 factors adrift of Neuville.
“It’s all the time vital to get a powerful end result. It has not been nice and by some means it has affected the boldness, however it’s crucial to place an excellent, strong weekend collectively,” Tanak informed Autosport.
“Some strain is there however the feeling within the automobile shouldn’t be too dangerous. I’m fairly positive if we will do the best selections we might be on the tempo.”