Ten
questions
to:
Thierry
Neuville

Following his early exit on day two of Vodafone Rally de Portugal he took shelter from the rain this afternoon to answer some searching - and other not so searching - questions from Wrc.com.

Who is your favourite cartoon character? “In Belgium we have this cartoon character called Lucky Luke: he was a cowboy who could ‘shoot faster than his own shadow’. He was my favourite when I was growing up.”

Do you believe in horoscopes? “No, not at all. Does anybody? Why should your star sign mean anything?”

What’s your favourite item of clothing? “My favourite is Superdry and luckily they are my sponsor too. So that’s my favourite: especially the fleece hoodies, which are really comfortable.”

What was your favourite subject at school? “In the end I liked maths, because I was quite good at it. Before I wasn’t so bothered really.”

Which are your favourite sports outside of rallying? “I don’t particularly like football, but I love extreme sports such as skiing and snowboarding.”

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? “Lots of people have told me to be patient, and to accept that I need time before I can get really good. Many people have said this, so I think it’s good advice.”

What do you want for your next birthday present? “There are lots of things that I want, but I can never remember them on demand. A nice relaxing holiday would be good, with no phones or computers.”

Which aspect of your driving do you feel you can improve the most? “I need to improve in every area really, but I would say that gravel driving and pace notes are two big things for me to concentrate on. I know what I need to do.”

Are these the most difficult stages that you have ever driven on? “We only did 10 kilometres on Friday before we had our problems with the radiator in the watersplash, but the stages were certainly tricky. It’s hard to say if these are the worst conditions I have driven in though: I did the Rally of Scotland last year and the conditions were just as bad, if not worse.”

You’ve driven a lot of different cars in a short space of time: how difficult has that been for you? “It’s not easy: the most tricky period was in 2010, when I was driving the Citroen DS3 R3, the Peugeot 207 Super 2000 and the Citroen C2 Super 1600 on different championships and tests during the same year. It was really hard for me to get my head round it all, but I think it taught me a lot.”