Neuville performs well at Wales Rally GB

If the fight for victory at Wales Rally GB quickly turned to the advantage of Sébastien Ogier (Volkswagen) against Ott Tänak (Ford), la bagarre pour la dernière marche du podium est restée animée entre les pilotes Hyundai Thierry Neuville and Hayden Paddon.

The Belgian finished the event more than 19 seconds ahead of the New Zealander while taking the last point of the Power Stage behind Andreas Mikkelsen (Volkswagen).

Thierry Neuville took advantage of the Norwegian's bad weekend, only 12th due to transmission problems, to take second place in the Championship with 14 points ahead of the Scandinavian before the final contested on the weekend of November 20 in Australia .

“It was a great weekend for us, confided Thierry Neuville after the arrival. The team has done an incredible job and we have a very competitive car to tackle these difficult stages. We did not have the pace necessary to play for victory but I am nevertheless satisfied with this podium. This extra point obtained in the Power Stage is a bonus, even if I didn't attack to take it. The conditions were very demanding, but we stayed focused and knew how to have the right pace when necessary. »

“It’s great to give Hyundai its first podium at Wales Rally GB and continue our run of good results. I am also happy to climb into second position in the Championship. The next goal is to finish on a high note in Australia”, added Thierry Neuville.

Hayden Paddon once again finished just off the podium as Rally of Catalonia, but his performance allowed him to come back to three points behind Andreas Mikkelsen in the Championship.

“We had a tough weekend and it’s not too bad to finish 4th, admitted the New Zealander. We had a good fight with Thierry for the podium, but we didn't manage to get any closer to him. All we could do was hold on to a weak point to remind him we were right behind, but he wouldn't back down. »

“This is the second time in a row where we have missed the podium, but there are still plenty of positives to take from this weekend, added Hayden Paddon. We know in which areas to progress in these conditions. I worked on my driving style this weekend. This experience will be useful in the future. »

Dani Sordo struggled more and could only take 6th place. Hyundai also had to give up the Manufacturers' title won by Volkswagen Motorsport.

“We were not able to fight for the top two places, which shows that we still need to improve in some areas, underlined Michel Nandan, Team Principal of Hyundai Motorsport. But the Hyundai i20 WRC proved reliable throughout the weekend and all three crews finished in the top six, by far our best result at Wales Rally GB. »

Wales Rally GB results

Discover the analysis of Wales Rally GB carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2087 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.