Neuville: Protection the key at Acropolis Rally Greece

The Belgian arrives in Lamia with a 27-point advantage over Sébastien Ogier, but he knows only too well that round 10 has an insatiable appetite for biting cars and crews at every level.

Neuville tasted victory in Greece two years ago, but suffered disappointment either side of that result when he broke the car’s steering last year and hit power steering trouble in 2022.

“Acropolis Rally,” said Neuville, “is a very challenging and long event. In the car, we can suffer a lot from the heat and the roughness of the terrain. The stages are always changing, so we come across a variety of profiles.

“For a strong weekend, we need a good mix of performance, precision and protection from the car setup; strong rims are also a necessity to protect tyres as much as possible. We are still leading the fight for the championship, so it is important to score as many points as possible without pushing too hard and risking the entire weekend.”

Despite the technical nature of the Acropolis, Neuville is a fan – and looks forward to something different after a European summer of speed through Poland, Latvia and Finland.

He added: “I enjoy this rally a lot, I like the technicalities of managing tyres and the car, and the roads are very different to what we usually see on a weekend. Our car is strong and we usually perform well in Greece, so hopefully we can do the same this year.”