WRC
Neuville accepts reality after Finland woes: "I have very little hope"
Thierry Neuville has admitted his FIA World Rally Championship title defence is all but over following another weekend of what-might-have-been at Secto Rally Finland.
Neuville had been Kalle Rovanperä's closest challenger throughout Friday and Saturday, running second and just 14.9 seconds behind the eventual winner when disaster struck on the Västilä stage. The reigning champion's i20 N Rally1 suffered an identical front-right failure to Hyundai team-mate Adrien Fourmaux on the same test, dropping both Hyundai drivers out of podium contention and handing Toyota a historic 1-2-3-4-5 lockout.
The result leaves Neuville 51 points behind new championship leader Elfyn Evans with five rounds remaining, a mathematical possibility that the pragmatic Belgian views with stark realism.
"I don't think so. I will push for it. We will see, but I have very little hope," Neuville reflected when asked about his chances to haul himself back into the title fight. “I passed that age where I would go home crying. But you always spend better holidays when you come home with a good result.”
© Hyundai
The frustration is understandable. Neuville was driving what many considered an “epic Rally Finland” despite admitting the high-speed gravel roads aren't where he feels most comfortable.
“Everybody knows we deserve more as a team, as a crew. But things don't go our way,” Neuville explained, his voice carrying the weight of a season that has rarely rewarded effort with results. “There's not much more to say. The efforts are there; the motivation is there. The team is fully behind us and pushing hard. It just doesn't go our way.”
This latest setback continues a troublesome pattern for the 36-year-old, who has not won a rally since last year’s visit to Greece.
“There has been no rally except Sweden where we were trouble-less and still we got a couple of podiums this year, but other than that lots of fighting and, yeah, trouble,” he acknowledged.
Looking ahead to the next challenge in Paraguay, Neuville added: “[I know] nothing at all [about the rally], so it’s a real surprise. We need to start preparing the chassis, the set-ups, everything. The holiday will be partly holiday, but it will also be a bit of work.”
