Neuville splits with co-driver Gilsoul ahead of WRC season
Thierry Neuville has split with long-term co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul one week before the start of the 2021 World Rally Championship season.

Hyundai i20 WRC driver Neuville has entered next week’s shortened Rallye Monte-Carlo with Martijn Wydaeghe in the navigator’s seat.
However, it has yet to be confirmed by Neuville or Hyundai Motorsport whether Wydaeghe’s involvement will extend beyond the opening round.
Announced this morning, the decision brings to an end Neuville's ten-year partnership with Gilsoul.
“We couldn’t find an agreement with Nicolas for this new season,” explained Neuville. “So we decided to stop our cooperation.
“We have great memories together and I want to thank him for his work during the last ten years.
“Now it is time to focus on Rallye Monte-Carlo and we are working hard with Martijn to get ready – although it will be a very challenging event for both of us."
Read Also:
Neuville and Gilsoul had been together since the second round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in 2011. On the following event – the Tour de Corse – they led the field home by almost 16 seconds in a Peugeot 207 S2000.
The following season they made the switch to the sport’s top division with the Citroen Junior squad and went on to claim 13 WRC wins, with their first coming at Rally Germany in 2014 and their most recent on last year’s Rallye Monte-Carlo.
They have finished runners-up in the title fight on five occasions, including four times from 2016 to 2019.
Wydaeghe has worked with the Hyundai squad back and forth – most recently when he sat alongside Craig Breen at the 2019 Rally Monza Show in northern Italy.
That same year, the 28-year-old started seven rounds of the World Rally Championship's WRC2 support series in a Citroen C3 R5 with fellow Belgian, Guillaume de Mevius.
Neuville becomes the second member of the Hyundai team to call on the services of a different co-driver for 2021.
Last December, Dani Sordo confirmed that after Rallye Monte-Carlo, Borja Rozada will partner him instead of Carlos del Barrio.
Despite calling del Barrio an “excellent partner”, three-time WRC rally winner Sordo said the “best thing” was for them to go their separate ways.

Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul, Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images
Related video

Previous article
Arctic Rally Finland replaces Sweden on WRC calendar
Next article
Neuville to make co-driver call after Monte Carlo

About this article
Series | WRC |
Author | Jason Craig |
Neuville splits with co-driver Gilsoul ahead of WRC season
Trending
Arctic Rally Finland: Highlights Stages 6-8
Arctic Rally Finland: Highlights Stages 3-5
What to look out for in the 2021 WRC
As the 2021 World Rally Championship prepares to launch amid tight COVID-19 restrictions in Monte Carlo, here are the eight things unrelated to the pandemic that you should keep an eye on this year
Evans on the talking points of WRC 2021
He came close to the title last year, and now Toyota's Elfyn Evans gives his verdict on what to expect from 2021 as the World Rally Championship prepares to reconvene for the Monte Carlo season opener.
Why Britain's continued WRC absence is a wake-up call
With Rally GB dropping off the World Rally Championship calendar for the second year in a row, one of Britain's best-attended sporting events faces an uncertain future. It's an unfortunate situation that points to troubling times ahead
The Top 10 WRC drivers of 2020
A drastically-shortened 2020 season gave the World Rally Championship protagonists precious little stage mileage to strut their stuff, but as ever the cream rose to the top across the seven events. We rank the year's best performers
The twists and turns of a turbulent 2020 WRC season
The 2020 World Rally Championship bestrode all 12 months of the Gregorian calendar, and in terms of the competition it was a cracker. Moreover, it was an inspiration in dark days for the world and our industry.
The early setbacks that shaped the WRC's greatest driver Loeb
A series of close calls in his formative years threatened to leave rallying's top echelon tantalisingly out of reach for the man who would go on to claim nine WRC titles. In an exclusive interview, Sebastien Loeb recalls the key steps on his road to dominance.
Why the WRC's unorthodox Monza ending was a necessary one
The Monza Rally was an unusual way to end an unusual WRC season, and while far from ideal, without it the series could have faced serious ramifications. To persuade stakeholders to commit to an uncertain future, Monza was an important showcase…
How Monza's lottery winner matched a 27-year-old record
The 2020 World Rally Championship ended in heartbreak for Britain's Elfyn Evans as his 14-point advantage in the drivers' title race was whisked out from beneath him by a patch of Italian snow. Thus Sebastien Ogier claimed his seventh WRC title as Rally Monza joined the calendar for the first time.