Hyundai star Thierry Neuville worries about WRC's future
Thierry Neuville, Hyundai's five-time championship runner-up and 18 rally winners, is unhappy with the way the WRC is going.
The Belgian pilot, who has been competing with the South Korean manufacturer since the 2014 season, said that his contract continues for one more season, but he started to make plans for his long-term future.
“As I said, my goal is to fight next year, then sign a contract for maybe two more years,” Neuville said. said.
“It would be nice for the WRC to be back where it belongs in these three years.
“No one knows what happens after that. Maybe I can be the [Fernando] Alonso of the WRC.”
These statements by Neuville come at a time when many drivers have been criticizing the series management lately.
Criticism first began at Rally Portugal, and the FIA held a meeting with team principals and drivers.
At this meeting, Neuville recommended increasing radio conversations and ending rallies on Saturday, with Sunday turning into a separate Power Stage day.
“It would be nice to have more communication with the team over the radio, but to be honest it's hard to know how to implement that,” Neuville said. said.
“My biggest recommendation is actually for Sundays.”
“Basically the rally will end on Saturday, we will pass a stage twice on Sunday, the times will be summed up after the stage, which will be treated as the Power Stage.”
"Also, we can increase radio conversations at this stage, I don't know."
“Friday and Saturday may continue in the classic format, but we need to turn Sunday into more of a television show. We can give a recap of the rally at the beginning and then we can stream the whole day live.”
The FIA has announced that it takes into account the feedback from drivers and teams, including Neuville, and will present a plan or roadmap for how the sport will evolve over the next few years.
“We are discussing the format, we are discussing the technical regulations and we are in dialogue with the FIA,” said WRC event director Simon Larkin. said.
"The regulations are set by the FIA, and we need to make sure it's a product we can sell."
A few minor changes will be made to the WRC regulations at this weekend's Rally Estonia.
To improve the spectator experience in the service park, WRC teams will no longer be able to block vehicles from being seen during official service intervals or while waiting for service.
