Thierry Neuville doesn’t want any recommendation and is aware of “what he must do” to take a maiden World Rally Championship title this weekend, based on Hyundai boss Cyril Abiteboul.
Neuville heads into this weekend’s penultimate spherical of the season in Central Europe understanding he’ll declare rallying’s final prize if he extends his 29-point lead past 30 factors.
Hyundai team-mate Ott Tanak is his nearest rival, whereas Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans are nonetheless mathematically within the combine, albeit 41 and 46 factors behind respectively, with 60 left on the desk.
Neuville has led the championship since profitable the Monte Carlo opener in January. The Belgian has been locked in title fights earlier than solely to return up quick, ending because the runner-up on 5 events (2013, 2016-2019).
Heading into what could possibly be a career-defining weekend, Abiteboul is assured his driver will deal with the event appropriately.
“He is aware of precisely what he must do,” Abiteboul instructed Motorsport.com. “It does not imply that now we have not mentioned [the situation].
“I believe there issues that I’ve merely stored on repeating as a result of there’s a little bit of stress from everybody from the system, from the media, to say ‘you’ll be able to win this rally’.
“’You possibly can win this rally’ mustn’t flip into ‘you need to win this rally’ as a result of once more, there are 13 rounds, not 12. Should you attempt to do a job that you have been assigned for 13 weeks and you are attempting to make it in 12 weeks, that is the place you’ll be able to underperform.
Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Crew Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Picture by: Vincent Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport
“Let’s not attempt to win at any value or to outscore everybody at any value. Let’s do what we have been doing to date and it is a lengthy sport. We have been taking part in the lengthy sport really [for] fairly some time and we should always not cease on the final second.
“I believe his profession has been full of wonderful moments like that, but additionally of moments the place errors had been made additionally on the incorrect time, so I believe I need to defend him from himself, and eradicating pointless stress is precisely what we have to do.
“He must do his rally and handle his benefit. He is received the benefit, he is received the playing cards in hand, he mustn’t give the playing cards to another person.”
Regardless of being the closest he’s ever been to a WRC title, Neuville says he doesn’t plan to change his method on the Central European Rally asphalt phases he conquered final 12 months.
“I’m feeling okay to date. I’m trying ahead as it’s a tarmac rally forward, which I take pleasure in, and it’ll be difficult however a pleasant weekend,” Neuville instructed Motorsport.com.
“In the intervening time It feels fairly calm to be sincere, and possibly the stress will come all through the weekend. I do not know, however in the intervening time I’m simply making an attempt to remain targeted.
“We need not win the championship essentially this weekend, however in fact we need to and we hope. However now we have had a great technique to date this 12 months, and there is no cause to vary that.”
