Rallye Monte-Carlo – The ordeal continues for Neuville: “It’s not our weekend so far”

Victim of a puncture and two track exits on Friday, Thierry Neuville had a new mishap this Saturday morning at the start of the first special of the day, with a mechanical problem on his Hyundai. Disappointed, the Belgian will try to save the furniture by Sunday.

Published 25/01/2025 à 13:28

Dorian Grangier

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Rallye Monte-Carlo – The ordeal continues for Neuville: “It’s not our weekend so far”

© Bastien Roux / DPPI

The reigning world champion is clearly having a difficult start to the defence of his crown this season. At the end of the 12th special stage, at midday this Saturday, Thierry Neuville points to 8th place in the Rally Monte Carlo more than five minutes behind the current leader, Sébastien Ogier ! A chasm that grew even wider this morning, at the start of ES10, the first special of the day.

He had barely set off when the Hyundai was handicapped by a mechanical problem that deprived him of the full power of his I20 N Rally1. Aware that his chances of victory were already nil, Thierry Neuville took the risk of stopping on the track in order to perform a "reset", a reinitialization of his car. After stopping for about thirty seconds, the Belgian was able to set off again at full speed, before finishing the 10th special 1'01 behind the best time set by Grégoire Munster.

At the finish of the special, the world champion tried to explain his mishap, but he himself struggled to find an explanation. "I lost power, like in Japan, we thought the turbo had failed, he confided, dejected, to the WRC. In the situation we were in, we tried to do a reset and everything has been fine since then. There were no signs, no alarms, nothing. Now it works.

"For now, the compromises are not very good" Neuville estimates

Finally, the Hyundai was able to compete in the other two special stages of the first loop on Saturday without encountering any problems, with Thierry Neuville even setting the 2nd time on SS12 to finish the morning. In the service park, the Belgian expressed his dismay at the many misadventures he has encountered since Friday (two track exits, a broken suspension on SS6, a puncture on SS9), but stated that he will not give up in view of the championship, since from now on, points are distributed according to the ranking at the finish on Sunday afternoon.

"Obviously it's not been our weekend so far. It's not the start we were hoping for, regrets Hyundai driver. However, we are still in the points and the rally is not over, so I am trying to find the positives at the moment and keep working to improve. I am not really sure that we have improved, although I felt more comfortable in the last stage of the loop. However, it is all about compromises, and at the moment the compromises are not very good. I am struggling a little bit but we have to try again this afternoon. If it works, we will try to increase the speed.

In fairness, over the last six specials, Thierry Neuville can still claim 7th place in the general classification, held by Sami Pajari. The Finn currently has a 1'16 lead over the Belgian, but the young driver Toyota is riding with a light foot on this Monte-Carlo Rally. To make up for this delay, the reigning world champion will have to work hard, while aiming for maximum points on Sunday to save face and launch his championship.

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Dorian Grangier

A young journalist nostalgic for the motorsport of yesteryear. Raised on the exploits of Sébastien Loeb and Fernando Alonso.

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