Neuville: “It was a small mistake”

The sky fell on the head of Hyundai Motorsport in the SS13 of Bayons – Bréziers, last route of the 3rd stage of the Rally Monte Carlo. While Thierry Neuville was heading towards a first victory at the Rallye Monte-Carlo by having 51 seconds ahead of Sébastien Ogier (Ford), the vice-world champion lost half an hour following a road trip which damaged his suspension.

The Belgian will be able to save the furniture by playing the bonus points of the Power Stage on the last day, but his disappointment is great.

“We started this stage knowing that Sébastien was going to attack hard and we launched the necessary response by signing the scratch, recalled Thierry Neuville. Our lead grew to over a minute and so we decided to play it safe with our tire choices in the afternoon. We had lost a little time but we could control our lead. »

“I felt confident in the last special, added the Belgian. I played on the differentials to have a good rhythm and things were going well. But I went wide when I was in 3rd or 4th in a corner where there was a lot of dirt. We were aware of the conditions with our scouts, but I had to re-accelerate too soon as the car went slightly off the road and we hit something hard. We immediately knew something had broken and we had to stop to repair it. »

“It was a small mistake, he lamented. I am very disappointed, especially for the team who worked so hard. We wanted to get this victory for them, but unfortunately it won't be this time. We had exceptional performances this weekend. We'll see what we can save on Sunday. »

His teammate Dani Sordo also suffered on the last course of the day since he lost a minute following the breakage of his power steering. The Spaniard was thus overtaken by the DS 3 WRC de Craig Breen who has a lead of 16 seconds occupying 4th place.

“We had made good progress this morning compared to Friday, analyzed Dani Sordo. The conditions were better and we were able to find more grip. I was generally more comfortable behind the wheel of the i20 WRC. We still have to work on the balance, but we have already been able to set better times and climb the rankings. It continued this trend this afternoon, but I suddenly lost power steering on the last stage. We were lucky that nothing happened and we were able to finish the stage. I hope to gain a place and get some points in the Power Stage on Sunday. »

Michel Nandan, the main team of Hyundai Motorsport, prefers to highlight the great performances over the entire weekend of the i20 WRCs.

“This day was a true Monte-Carlo classic in many ways. We had ups and downs, difficult conditions, tricky tire choices and stages that surprised many crews. It's obviously very disappointing to lose the lead, but that's part of the rally. We saw what the Hyundai i20 WRC was capable of”, warned the Monegasque.

The final stage will be made up of two special stages covered twice spread over 54km timed. The day will start at 9:22 a.m.