Neuville takes control at the Ypres Rally, Lefebvre leads in WRC2

Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai) experienced two rallies in one this Friday August 19 in Belgium. As part of the first stage of Rally from Ypres, the Belgian crew initially suffered a few disappointments, before moving up a gear during the afternoon.

As proof, we want their sparkling series of four consecutive scratch times (SS5 to SS8)! Enough to allow them to catch up with the leading group and even take control at the end of SS7, contested under threatening skies but free of rain.

Thierry Neuville once again made an effort in SS8 to increase his margin in first place, even if his teammate Ott Tänak keeps an eye out at 2”5. One time leader of the competition, Elfyn Evans slowed down the pace, and the blow to the Welshman's head resulted in a late score at the start of the special: 10 extra seconds in the general classification!

“It’s a completely different afternoon compared to the morning, declared the native of Saint-Vith. The behavior of the car is transfigured. Our meteorologists did a very good job, their information was very precise. There are still a few areas I want to improve on to have more speed, but it's still very positive. »

Rovanperä in the scenery at the Ypres Rally

This first stage included eight special stages but Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) only completed one. The leader of the Drivers' Championship was the author of the striking sequence of the day by starting in a series of rolls from SS2. If the crew escaped unscathed, this is not the case for the Yaris Rally1 hybrid, which is examined this Friday evening by the technical commissioners. If the roll bar is damaged, retirement will be permanent for the Finn.

ALSO READ > Human error behind Kalle Rovanperä's Ypres Rally accident

“There were a few curves and in the second of this series my rating was too optimistic, explains the leader of the World Rally Championship (WRC). The turn was shorter than I had indicated and I was unable to turn and we ended up in the embankment. »

When did he realize this wouldn't happen? “In the left because it was shorter than I thought. Then I had a lot of understeer and it was over..."

His boss, former pilot Jari-Matti Latvala, delivered a slightly more technical analysis: “Kalle's note was slightly wrong. The note about the left turn said it was “short”. So, after the right turn, he opened the trajectory and dived very early at the apex of the left turn. But as this turn was not that short, it comes out very wide at the exit.

He began to understeer due to his premature entry into the corner. That's why he went off the road. This has nothing to do with a problem with the car. If you look in detail at the angle of the wheels, you see that Kalle steers very early, then straightens the steering wheel while making a course correction. As he adjusts his curve, the car begins to understeer. »

In the rest of the peloton, the M-Spot Ford clan is fighting for places of honor. It is nevertheless justified that the provision ofAdrien fourmaux is to be differentiated from that of Craig Breen and Gus Greensmith. The Frenchman set off at a promising pace in the morning (4th) before a storm slowed him down considerably. Equipped with slick tires, Adrien Fourmaux had to slow down and let go for more than a minute. Any hope of a regular podium having vanished, the Habs were cautious thereafter.

On the WRC2 side, Stéphane Lefebvre (Citroën) uses his knowledge of Belgian roads. The 30-year-old Frenchman, current leader of the Belgian Championship with the C3 Rally2, is ahead of the category title holder, Andreas Mikkelsen (Skoda).

Frenchman Yohan Rossel (Citroën) is fighting for the last step of the provisional podium but continued to lose time in the afternoon loop. “Not a bad day, but every tire choice was a miss on our part. »

The second stage of the Ypres Rally will begin on Saturday August 20 at 10:13 a.m. and will be followed live with commentary on AUTOhebdo.fr.

General classification Ypres Rally 2022 after Stage 1: