Making his WRC comeback after an enforced three-month absence related to his involvement in the London Olympic Games, Nasser Al-Attiyah willbe back alongside his co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini in his Qatar World Rally Team Citron DS3 WRC at Rallye Deutschland.
Constantly improving and confident as they head into a rally with which they are already familiar, Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul (Citron JuniorWorld Rally Team) will be aiming to record their best result so far in the World Championship.
Three weeks after Finland, the setting will be radically different in Germany for the ninth round of the World Rally Championship. Held on roads around Trier, this will be as close as it gets to a home rally for Thierry Neuville.
Originally from Saint-Vith, located in the heart of the small German-speaking part of Belgium, the Citron Junior World Rally Team driver will need to travel less than a hundred kilometres to reach Trier!
Currently lying eighth in the World Championship standings, with two fifth places in Argentina and New Zealand as his best results, Thierry has surprised many WRC observers by the ease with which he has adapted to the championship.
After being in contention for a top 5 place in Finland for long periods despite it being his first experience at the rally he is determined to take advantage of his knowledge of the German roads to reach new heights.
I don't have a huge amount of experience at this event, as I have only competed here once before, in 2010 in a C2Super 1600. And even then, I retired, played down Thierry. But that is already much more than the last few rallieswhere everything was totally new for me. Whats important is that the road surfaces in Germany are much more familiarto me. I dont think I can be categorised as a gravel or tarmac driver, but I think I won't have any difficulty getting mybearings.
My aim will be complete the rally without making any fatal errors, like I did in New Zealand for example. If I canmanage that, I think I can challenge for a place in the top 5 and maybe even a spot on the podium, warned Thierry.The goals will be somewhat different for Nasser Al-Attiyah, who will be returning to the WRC after being away from theaction since 27 May, after the end of the Acropolis Rally. The last few months have been incredible. I prepared veryseriously for the Olympic Games and I achieved my dream in winning a bronze medal, summarised the Qatari, whofinished third in the Skeet competition (clay pigeon shooting). I then stayed in London to enjoy the Games and soakup the fantastic atmosphere. I am very determined to try and win the gold medal in Rio in four years time! But beforethat, Im very pleased to return to rallying. I couldnt choose between my two passions. I realise just how lucky I am tobe able to compete in both sports.
For the time being, Nassers best result is the fourth place he recorded in Portugal. He knows that, realistically, hesunlikely to pick up a medal in Germany: Gravel is the surface on which I am most at ease. This will be my first evertarmac rally in a WRC and I still need to do a lot more work to make progress. I have only raced here once before, lastyear. I'll be mainly looking to get back into the swing of things and listen to the advice from the team, who have a hugeamount of experience at this rally.
