Thierry Neuville has given his backing to Rally Estonia’s new condensed 50-hour event format, saying the concept is a positive step for the World Rally Championship and one he hopes becomes a recurring feature on the calendar.
Rally Estonia organisers introduced the revised schedule this week, with the primary aim of reducing operational costs for both teams and event staff while maintaining the full competitive distance.
The rally itself has not been cut short, with crews still facing 301.8km across 18 stages before the event wraps up on Sunday afternoon. What has changed is the structure surrounding those stages.
Crews arrived in host city Tartu later than usual, with reconnaissance beginning ahead of Thursday’s ceremonial start. Shakedown was shifted to Friday morning, followed by six stages across the afternoon broken up by a tyre fitting zone, with crews returning to service at 20:45.
Saturday shapes as the most demanding day on the itinerary, with nine stages scheduled including a midday service. Action begins at 10am with the final stage of the day getting underway at 20:35 local time.
The rally concludes on Sunday with two passes of the 24.39km Kaariku stage.
This is not the first time the WRC has experimented with a tighter format. Rally Sardinia ran a comparable 48-hour schedule in 2024, and Neuville believes that experience demonstrated the concept had merit.
The Belgian reigning world champion went further, suggesting a broader mix of event lengths and structures could soon become part of the championship’s future direction under its incoming commercial rights holder, whose identity has yet to be officially announced.
Neuville indicated the new promoter was already considering fresh approaches to the rally itinerary, including a blend of longer and shorter events to better serve both competitors and fans.
The Hyundai driver heads to Estonia sitting sixth in the championship standings, 30 points behind third-placed Sebastien Ogier and eight adrift of Oliver Solberg in fifth. It has been a season of recovery for the defending champion after a tough opening stretch of rounds.
Recent results have lifted Neuville’s outlook considerably. Victory in Portugal was followed by a strong second place in Greece, and he arrived in Estonia with momentum building at just the right point of the season.
Estonia’s high-speed gravel roads are among the fastest on the WRC calendar and have historically suited the Hyundai i20 N Rally1. Neuville has previously shown strong pace at the event, and his confidence heading into the round reflected that history.
With the championship fight still very much alive, Estonia represented a critical opportunity for Neuville to close the gap on the frontrunners and reassert himself as a genuine title contender.
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