Neuville excited by extra gravel rounds in IRC

Rising star Thierry Neuville says the increased number of gravel events on the Intercontinental Rally Challenge calendar in 2012 will help him improve as a driver.

Neuville has yet to finalise his IRC programme for next season but hopes to contest as many events as possible. The 2012 IRC schedule includes three all-gravel rallies in Azores, Romania and San Marino while the season-closing Cyprus Rally will feature a combination of asphalt and gravel stages.

“I have a good pace on asphalt but on gravel maybe the pace is there but it’s not the same confidence as on asphalt,” said Neuville, a winner of two IRC events in 2011 for Team Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg. “I can be as fast on gravel as on asphalt but maybe it’s in a more dangerous way. I want to drive on gravel as often as possible so the extra gravel events in the IRC in 2012 can be good for me.”