Thierry Neuville is heading into the Central European Rally leading the World Rally Championship with two rounds to go.
The Belgian driver is on the verge of winning the title for the first time in his career after multiple near misses in recent years.
Neuville needs to outscore his nearest rival, Ott Tanak, by two points in the penultimate round of the season, while Sebastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans are also in contention.
The Central European Rally has been a successful event for the championship leader in the past and Neuville took victory last season which should give him confidence.
He has to deal with the added pressure of being on the verge of winning his first title with just two rounds to go.
Eyvind Brynildsen explained while commentating on the shakedown ahead of the rally that Neuville can’t push to the maximum while his rivals can.
Thierry Neuville’s rivals can go ‘flat out’ while he has to deal with the pressure of the championship
Neuville has been consistently at the front of the field all season and has built a very competitive championship-challenging campaign.
The Belgian driver has had other strong seasons over his career but he missed out on the championship, finishing third in each of the last three years.
As he is battling for the title, the Hyundai driver will need to manage the risk this weekend, as making any errors could hand the advantage to his nearest rival, Tanak.
Brynildsen explained that other drivers in the field will likely be pushing to the limit as they have less to lose than Neuville.
He said: “There’s some pressure on Neuville this weekend because he’s in a position now to win the championship and there’s no room for error.
“Even though he’s got a big lead, you really need to be there on his toes. The guys behind him are hunting him down and they know that they can go just flat out because they need to be ahead of Thierry in this rally.”
Thierry Neuville enjoys the tarmac rallies more than other surfaces
Neuville has driven well on a range of surfaces this season, from the icy roads of the Monte Carlo Rally to gravel in Greece.
The Hyundai driver won both those events but Neuville prefers driving on tarmac, which offers a different challenge to other WRC rallies.
This should allow him to enter the final two events of the year in a confident mood as they are both held on tarmac.
The Central European Rally and Rally Japan have been good events in the past for the 36-year-old, but he will be hoping to have the title wrapped up this weekend.