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WRC champion not panicking over points gap to runaway leader Elfyn Evans
Thierry Neuville is not “panicking” over the points gap to World Rally Championship leader Elfyn Evans, but admits he “needs” to beat his rival when the series resumes in the Canary Islands this week.
The reigning world champion heads into the fourth round of the season at Rally Islas Canarias (24-27 April), 36 points adrift of early runaway leader Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Elfyn Evans.
Evans’ impressive start to the season, including a second at Monte Carlo followed by back-to back victories in Sweden and Kenya, has resulted in the Welshman building up a record WRC points lead after three rallies.
While Neuville has acknowledged Evans’ stunning start to the campaign, he says it is still “early days” in the championship fight.
“It is very early days in the championship and honestly I’m not panicking,” said Neuville.
“Elfyn has been very strong, but it is very rare to see such a strong run from somebody in three rallies in a row, and we hope we can be stronger than him. We just need to avoid a bad result.”
He added: “We had a great result [third] at Safari Rally Kenya; nevertheless, it was still a demanding event – probably one of the most challenging of the year.
“I think the momentum we need for this event is there, and we have everything we need in the car, so I think we will perform well. We are targeting a victory, of course - we need to beat Evans to close that gap in both championships.”
Neuville, like most drivers, will have limited knowledge of the Canary Islands stages which will make their WRC debut this week. The Belgian has however contested the event back in 2010 and 2011 when it was part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, finishing third in 2011.
To aid preparations Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe completed the opening round of the European Rally Championship at Rally Sierra Morena on Spanish asphalt roads earlier this month.
The pair drove Hyundai’s i20 N Rally1 2025 evo package which they will use in the WRC for the first time since Rally Sweden in February.
“It's hard to remember the last time I competed at Rally Islas Canarias, but it was definitely a rally I enjoyed,” he said.
“Many parts of the route have been reworked, resurfaced and widened, so I don’t think there is much experience I can take from 2010 and 2011 into the weekend.
“At a test event we contested recently, we had a good mixture of grip, precision and performance, so we are feeling more comfortable with the car on tarmac.
“I think you need to have very good and precise pace notes [in the Canary Islands]. It will be mainly about car set up and car performance because everyone will be fast on tarmac anyhow.
“There will be very similar stage conditions for everybody and the time gaps will be small, so the set up will be the difference and maybe the tyre management.”
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