Neuville: “If we continue like this, we will be next”

Thierry Neuville had a difficult second stage at the Tour de Corse. The pilot Hyundai was taken back at the end of the day by the Toyota byOtt Tänak. If only a tenth separates the two men, the Belgian seems to be focusing more on the second Yaris WRC led by Esapekka Lappi came back around ten seconds from the top three.

The vice-champion made several remarks at the end of the second day revealing great frustration on the part of the Hyundai driver.

“I'm much more focused on what's behind me than what's in front. If it continues like this, we will be next (reference to Kris Meeke's exit in SS10)... If Ott doesn't make any mistakes tomorrow, we will have to settle for a third or fourth place.", commented the Belgian, certainly thinking of the 55km special which awaits the crews tomorrow.

"There's not much to say after such a day, he added. We attacked as much as we could in each stage and we even exceeded the limit at certain times. It's all we can do to try to maintain a place on the podium. We struggled with the settings and certain routes did not suit the car. It was impossible to maintain second place. All we can hope for now is to limit the damage by keeping third at the end of a difficult weekend for Hyundai Motorsport. »

His teammates are not celebrating either. Dani Sordo is in fifth place after taking advantage of Kris Meeke's crash while still being put under pressure by Elfyn Evans (M-Sport) which clocks in at three seconds. Andreas Mikkelsen follows in seventh place.

“We made modifications to the car, confirmed the Spaniard, which brought a little more confidence and we could see very slight improvements at times. We did everything we could, but there are still set-up issues to resolve. The same problem occurred for all crews (Hyundai). All we can do is adapt to find more grip on the front axle and hope to be better tomorrow for the long special. It may be a little too late, but we are not going to give up. »