Hi, friends!
Current World Rally champion Thierry Neuville is currently in 5th place on the championship table with 96 points and a huge 54 points behind leader Elfyn Evans (Toyota). I saw Neuville's frustration on his face during the last few gravel events when he just couldn't find the grip and settings with (now obviously) lower gripping Hankook tires.
Yeah, another champion - Kalle Rovanpera (Toyota) is having a huge problem with adaptation on those rubber and it seems that drivers with less problems on adaptation on Hankooks could be in favor this season.
There is also a problem with machinery because his Hyundai i20 Rally1 car is just not on the level of Toyota. Hyundai Motorsport boss did a big mistake making a switch in his (and his employer's) heads on circuit racing and that costed them a development phase which is now obvious to anyone who follows World Rally Championship.
Thumb down.
But they are trying and current WRC champion Thierry Neuville won't go without a push in the following seven events of World Rally Championship. Yeah, they were testing ahead of two following events - Estonia and Finland. Here is the pre-event testing video.
Please enjoy...
Credit for photos and videos to WRC and Youtube.
Vote for @pfunk and @guiltyparties as Hive witnesses.
Give some support to minnows :)
Grab a beer and enjoy!
Cheers!