World champion Thierry Neuville is out to fight all the bad luck that the Safari Rally Kenya has done to him and Hyundai team in the previous four editions of the famous event in the African savannah.
Team Hyundai World Rally star who won his maiden world title last year has enjoyed little fortune since his debut in the event when it returned to the WRC calendar in 2021.
And his script has followed a familiar pattern. Take an early lead before falling off the leaderboard in the final two days of the competition.
Returning to the Safari Rally Kenya he loves as a world champion, the Belgian is motivated to go for the elusive event crown in the 2025 edition that is already underway.
“I’m here to win in Kenya Safari Rally. I’m also here to lead team Hyundai to outperform Toyota on this landscape,” stated Neville.
“After the last four year struggling to master the Safari Rally terrain, I believe this is quite our year,” the world champion mentioned after the event shakedown in Naivasha on Wednesday.
“Twice, I’ve had issues with my dampers (shock absorbers) and twice I have had problems with my fuel pump, actually last year I was lying second before the unimaginable happened. Hopefully this year I stay away from the challenges.”
“The team is already set up to solve those critical issues before we start the Safari proper on Thursday and we believe this will be our year in Kenya,” he underlined.
He (Neuville) has admitted there is to much pressure on the team to perform in the Safari Rally, the third round of the 2025 WRC owing to the fact that Toyota has started the season on a high.
Toyota is strong here in Kenya
“We are here to overturn that in Naivasha and as a team (Hyundai) we need to be strong to achieve that.”
“We also know that Toyota has been very strong in the Safari in the past so we are working to solve our weak points in Kenya and hopefully it works for us,” Neuville added.
Neuville believes having an experienced strong team of Tanak and Adrien Fourmaux (France), in Kenya is a positive thing for Hyundai who are in search for the elusive Safari Rally title.
