Just like in 2023, thirteen World Cup rounds will be held. Compared to last year, one overseas rally is canceled with the Rally of Mexico. In Europe, the Rally of Estonia is canceled. The rallies of Poland and Latvia are the replacements on the calendar. The latter is a completely new rally. The Rally of Poland has already been part of the World Cup in the past. It was last on the calendar in 2017, when Neuville took victory.
Toyota has entered four drivers, but only Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta will drive a full World Championship. World champion Kalle Rovanperä decided at the end of last year to take a step back to avoid becoming mentally burned out at a young age. Sébastien Ogier has been riding a limited program for several years.
Of the five Hyundai pilots, only Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak will drive a full World Championship. Neuville starts his eleventh season with Hyundai and is open to a new contract. “If an opportunity arises to extend my contract, I would like to take it up. Especially if the sport continues to evolve. I would like to experience that,” Neuville said. Esapekka Lappi, Dani Sordo and Andreas Mikkelsen will take turns in the third car.
The new car from Neuville.
M-Sport is the only private team that defends Ford’s interests and favors youth. This year it will have two cars at the start. One for the Frenchman Adrien Fourmaux, who has already completed a full championship for the team in the past. The other car is for our compatriot Grégoire Munster, who also has Luxembourgish nationality. Munster lives in Belgium, but has enjoyed support from Luxembourg for years, which considers him a top athlete. And so Munster drives with a Luxembourg license.
Finally Neuville?
Of the six riders who complete a full World Cup campaign, Thierry Neuville sees three pilots as a candidate world champion. Those are Ott Tänak, Elfyn Evans and himself. “Even now people will say that it is now or never for me,” says Neuville, who has already finished second in the World Cup five times.
The Monte Carlo will be held this week. That match has been the opening match of the World Rally Championship for years. A World Cup that seems to be suffering a bit from anemia. No constructors are joining and drivers are dropping out. In this case, Rövanpera, still only 23 years old, is running a partial programme. “That won’t shuffle the cards so fiercely. There is simply one less candidate world champion. Nothing else changes. There are three constructors and, in my opinion, three candidate world champions. That’s Tänak, Evans and myself. There may be others who will step up, but it’s hard to say right now. That it’s now or never for me? That was the case last year. That is the case this year. And as I continue, it will always be this way. But the fewer riders there are, the better your chances. That is obvious.”
Thierry Neuville.
Neuville also realizes that the World Cup no longer has the appearance it once did. “I’ve been talking about that for a long time and there are other riders who have followed me in that. The sport must evolve: constructors must be added, the marketing must be different. The three teams have now opted for a different view of the car. When you see how many stories that brings, that’s great. I note that there is a lot of good will to change things, but that’s it. However, it is urgent, and that is where the shoe pinches. It is now no longer possible to add a manufacturer for next year. That will be difficult even before 2026. That means we are already at 2027. But then you have to start taking steps now.”
New points system
Starting this year, a new points system will be introduced. Instead of awarding points to the top 10 at the end of a rally, points will now be awarded at the end of Saturday’s stage as follows: 18-15-13-10-8-6-4-3-2 -1. However, no points will be awarded if a driver fails to complete the entire rally. On Sunday, a separate classification will be drawn up for the top seven (7-6-5-4-3-2-1) to discourage drivers from playing it tactically in function of the power stage, the last classification stage of a rally where additional points can be earned (5-4-3-2-1). “I can’t possibly say now whether that will work or not,” said Neuville. “On paper it is possible that a winner of the rally will score fewer points than the second. And someone who gives up on Friday can still get twelve points on Sunday. I want to see how it turns out.”
The hunt for a double world title among drivers and constructors starts for Neuville in Monte Carlo. The Belgian lives in Monaco and won this rally in 2019. Last year he finished third. For Grégoire Munster, the Monte Carlo is the World Cup rally he knows best. The Belgian, with a Luxembourg license, will be at the start with a Rally1 for the first time.
Neuville (left) with reigning world champion Rövanpera (center). — © AFP
The weather and the associated tire choices are the most discussed topics for the Monte Carlo every year. “I prefer snow instead of dry roads. Otherwise it is not a real Monte Carlo for me,” says Thierry Neuville. “In the run-up to this competition, we tested on snow as well as on wet and dry asphalt. There is some snow on the higher parts of the trail. But the weather will be very mild this week. We have been competitive there in the past and know what it takes to be on the podium. This year we are aiming for the best possible result and we hope that we can compete at the front.”
Munster
Grégoire Munster will be starting a Rally1 for the first time. “I like this rally with changing conditions,” said Munster. “It’s not too cold here at the moment. If I had to choose, I would like some snow. I like difficult conditions, even though I have never experienced them here with a Rally1 car. The test session in the run-up to this competition was good. My ambition is to remain faultless and thus start the season with a good feeling. No one expects me, I have no pressure. I would like to divide the season into two parts. In the first part I want to gain experience and make progress so that I can go for results in the second part, in the rallies that I know better.”
Gregory Munster.
With Munster, a second Belgian will compete at the highest level at the start of the World Rally Championship. Munster is taking a similar step as Thierry Neuville eleven years ago. “I also started at M-Sport at the time,” says Neuville. “It’s good that he gets a springboard. It is also the only available springboard there is. I hope he has a good car. To say now that I should take him into account seems too early. That is not his goal either. Let it grow quietly.”