Neuville: “We will be there in Portugal”

Thierry Neuville returned to the service park of the Rally from Chile on crutches after taking exams. The pilot Hyundai went into a series of rollovers on SS7, completely destroying his i20 WRC. Although his co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul emerged unscathed from the crash, emergency services were called for the championship leader.

“My leg hurts a little, but it’s just a few bruises. We will be there in Portugal (the weekend of June 2). We are doing well with Nicolas, indicated the vice-champion. We had a good impact, but we got through it. We passed the exams and everything is fine. My grades were a little too optimistic in this area. I went wide and the accident happened. I immediately felt that we had hit behind and there was not much left to do. »

Thierry Neuville risks losing his place as leader of the championship since he only has ten points ahead of Sébastien Ogier (Citroën) currently in second position behind Ott Tänak (Toyota).

“The situation is clearly not what we wanted. We are now waiting for the next events where we should have a better position on the road. If everything works for me, I shouldn't be too far behind my opponents.", added the Belgian.

“We have seen since last year that the new WRCs handle big shocks really well. I didn't want to test it myself, but that's how it is. I haven't seen the video of the crash yet, just photos. It must have been impressive,” admitted the Hyundai driver.

Nicolas Gilsoul has also recovered from the impact, the co-driver having also undergone routine examinations.

“We were pretty shaken up, but we’re okay. The note indicated completely behind the crest and seeing the road after the jump, I immediately understood that it was not going to pass. There was smoke and the spectators were excited. The situation seemed a bit chaotic. The car also had to be secured because a fire broke out in the back. We spoke together just after the accident. Thierry was a little less well and so I took charge of things. »

Thierry Neuville is scheduled to take part in a test session with Hyundai next week.