The WRC title balancing act facing Neuville and Hyundai in Japan

Thierry Neuville has opened up on the balancing act he faces in Japan to secure a maiden World Rally Championship crown and contribute to Hyundai’s manufacturers’ title bid.

Neuville heads into the season finale as the heavy favourite to claim what would be a career-defining title, with a 25-point lead over Hyundai team-mate Ott Tanak. The Belgian only needs to score six points to seal the championship.

The task however is far from simple given Japan’s asphalt roads are among the WRC’s most challenging where small but critical mistakes can happen on the slippery and twisty roads.

Adding to this dynamic, Hyundai holds a 15-point lead in the manufacturers’ title fight against Toyota as the Korean marque seeks to secure its first title since 2020.

When asked how he was feeling ahead of the rally given what is at stake, Neuville told Motorsport.com: “I’m excited, but excited to finish this rally on a good note.

“There is nothing more we can do. Everything has been checked and done and the unpredictability will be road conditions tomorrow, so we cannot do much at the moment about that.”

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Neuville admits he will have to strike a balance in regard to risks while ensuring he doesn’t fall into the trap of driving too slowly. The five-time WRC title runner-up is also fully aware of how Japan’s roads can bite after crashing out of last year’s edition while fighting for the win.

“I will follow my feeling on the first couple of stages and then basically we will adapt depending on the results of the other drivers and then we will manage,” he said.

“At the beginning of the rally we will just follow my feeling like we did in shakedown this morning. The target was just to try to follow our normal rhythm.

“It’s like a balance between obviously pushing and taking risks or driving too slow as well. We also want to be there and support the team in case we can be helpful for the manufacturers’ title. That will depend a lot on my team-mates as well, I expect them to be faster than us this weekend.”

While Tanak’s title hopes are slim, any problem for Neuville could hand the Estonian a golden opportunity to claim a second world title.

The 2019 world champion admits there is a lot of pressure on his shoulders as he will also carry the burden of leading the team’s attack to secure the manufacturers’ title.

“It’s still a lot of pressure. The drivers’ title is kind of theoretical, but the manufacturers’ really very much open and I definitely can’t let Toyota to take a 1-2-3 like they did last year, so we clearly need to be in the mix and competitive with performance. So it’s still a lot to do to defend the position,” Tanak told Autosport.

Andreas Mikkelsen, Hyundai World Rally Team, Ott Tänak, Hyundai World Rally Team, Thierry Neuville, Hyundai World Rally Team

Photo by: Austral / Hyundai Motorsport

Hyundai is refusing to let complacency creep into its preparations for the event despite the fact it has already secured the drivers’ crown and is handily placed for a title double.

“The mood is good. I can feel that there is a positive vibe, positive attitude, which is good, but I think it’s also my role to make sure that we are not taking things for granted,” said team principal Cyril Abiteboul.

“The last thing that we want to happen is a reliability issue or execution issue, and on the reliability side we have been good this year. Once again I said my three words in the team briefing yesterday: reliability, reliability, reliability.

“Thierry will be fairly risk-averse and we need to understand that we should not be frustrated if he’s not as high as what we would like in the classification.

“I think he wants to contribute to our objective of the weekend, which includes having a go at the championship. For the other two [Tanak and Andreas Mikkelsen] it’s very clear that they have nothing to do other than push and attack and do the best they can.”

Should Hyundai falter in its bid to secure the team’s title, rivals Toyota are waiting to pounce.

Sébastien Ogier, Vincent Landais, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

The Japanese brand is eager to salvage silverware from a difficult campaign with drivers Elfyn Evans, Takamoto Katsuta and Sebastien Ogier primed for an “all or nothing” approach to try and replicate last year’s podium lockout.

“I think it is all or nothing at the moment. We can only gain and we can’t lose more but to achieve that you have to keep the cars on the road, so we can’t afford mistakes,” said Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala.

“We had a bit of a talk yesterday and the drivers know the situation. We need to work together and we need all the drivers to do a strong performance, then it is possible to achieve the manufacturers’ title. It is very difficult but it is not impossible.”