Courtesy of his sensational round one win at Rallye Monte-Carlo last month, the Belgian will lead the field into the snow-filled roads around Umeå at Rally Sweden next week.
Neuville will be hoping those stages aren’t too snow-filled. Heavy snow falling in the next week or between the recce and the rally itself would compromise his position of first on the road – forcing him to act as a snowplough, clearing the tracks and improving the grip for those following.
“We have to see what the conditions are going to be like when we get there,” he said. “If the surface is really frozen hard then the road can be fine for us – but if there’s a lot of snow on the road and the conditions are tricky then we can be fighting for the positions further down, maybe fifth or sixth.
“We can only hope the grip is good. If it is then I think we can fight for the win.”
The Swedish event will be world champion Kalle Rovanperä’s first WRC appearance of the season after the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver missed the season opener in the French Alps.
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