Thierry Neuville navigated by Matijn Wydaeghe in a Hyundai i20 compete in the Sleeping Warrior stage of the 2024 WRC Safari Rally on March 30, 2024.
World Rally Champion Thierry Neuville is know for his hard, skillful driving but life is not all about motorcar racing for the Belgian.
Neuville supports several charities in Kenya either through fundraising or giving cash money directly.
The Hyundai driver’s return this year is expected to be greeted warmly by many locals including Hand in Hand for Kenya Maisha Mazuri Children Centre in Nairobi an Logos Scholarship Fund, an organisation that provides education for young girls in Nairobi.
Neuville is one of their famous benefactor. Following his fifth place finish in the Safari in 2022, Neuville donated Sh320,000 to Hand in Hand for Kenya Maisha Mazuri Children Centre.
Last year, his WRC Safari Rally helmet designed by Kenyan photographer Thandwe Muriu sold for £21,760 (Sh3.58 million) at Bonhams Auction House in Britain and the money went to Logos Scholarship Fund.
The Hyundai Motorsport team is meanwhile ready to trade outright performance for improved reliability on their cars which have tended to break in the tough Safari Rally, especially the ones driven by Neuville.
“We couldn’t test enough on rough roads and we know that the other car is strong on that side, so I think the team preferred not to take any risk on that,” Neuville told WRC.com on Wednesday
“We’re going to use the old car,” said Ott Tanak, the 2019 world champion who secured Hyundai’s only Safari podium with a third place in 2021.
Added Tanak, who donated to the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation for education in 2023: “Reliability is the priority (on the Safari) and we know it’s there (with the 2024 car).”
Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul admitted his squad needed to halt rival team Toyota’s perfect start to the year.
“The championship is not starting in the right way for us,” said Abiteboul. “However, it is clear that we do not need big improvements to turn things around. We need to focus on having clean rally, starting in Safari Rally Kenya.”
In Kenya, Neuville is scheduled for a meet-the-fans session at Hyundai Kenya showroom on March 16 where he will sign autographs and hang out with his admirers.
Hyundai Kenya hosted another Hyundai driver Esapekka Lappi last year as part of pre-event driver engagement.
However, Polish Kajetan Kajetanowicz stole the show at Buffalo Mall in Naivasha as he was mobbed by Kenyan children he gifted autographed posters.
Neuville, who became the first Belgian to win the world rally title and also gave the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai their first driver’s title in history, will be looking for his first Safari title in a five-year quest that has been dogged by misfortunes and unique incidents.
In 2021 Neuville lost his lead of theSafari Rally with a damaged rear-right damper on the last day of competition when victory appeared imminent.
He had begun the day with a 57.4-second lead over Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta of Japan and looked set to give Hyundai and Belgium their first Safari victory.
But this was not to be in the final day’s opening stage, Loldia.
He nursed the ailing car to the end of the stage, holding an 11.7s lead over Katsuta, but after assessing the damage post-stage he quickly realized he had no chance of continuing. In 2023, Neuville was disqualified by stewards for visiting Soysambu stage after it had been closed from recce.
Neuville started his WRC career in 2009 and he has finished as runner-up in the drivers' championship five times (2013, 2016–2019). He helped Hyundai win their first manufacturers' title in 2019, and repeated the feat in 2020.
He has 19 WRC victories including the 2020 and 2024 Monte Carlo Rally, as well as having 375 stage wins and 64 podium finishes to his name.
