Neuville tips Meeke but fears threat of Loix

Emerging Belgian driver Thierry Neuville is backing his Kronos Racing team-mate Kris Meeke to win the Geko Ypres Rally this week, but fears his veteran countryman Freddy Loix will be tough to beat.

Loix, 39, has won the Tarmac event on a record five previous occasions, and will line up in a Škoda Fabia Super 2000 run by the factory team.

Fabias have won the last three rounds of the IRC and Loix has an intimate knowledge of the technically challenging Ypres stages. Running through farmland, they are characterised by long straights and square junctions and are lined by deep drainage ditches, meaning there is no margin for error.

“Freddy knows perfectly the roads and will be very fast this year in the Škoda,” said Neuville, 21. “Kris has to push to win and I hope he can win but it will be difficult with Freddy and drivers like Jan Kopecký against him.”

Neuville plans to tap into Meeke’s knowledge of the event after the Peugeot UK driver won on his debut last season.

“For sure I will ask him a lot of questions,” said Neuville, who will drive a Team Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg-backed 207 S2000.