Monte-Carlo Rally – Thierry Neuville: “I had a blast”

How does it feel to have won the Monte-Carlo after such a battle?

I lack the words to explain what I feel. We expected a rally very dry, but ultimately we had quite a few patches of ice, frost and a lot of humidity. This made the race very complicated. The fight between Elfyn and Sébastien was sublime. I enjoyed each of the stages, notably with a lot of scratch time. This is what I will remember from this weekend.

You seemed particularly in tune with your self. Promising for the future?

It worked really well for four days. I felt very comfortable. It's encouraging. I feel like it was a team effort. There have been changes in the structure of Hyundai Motorsport. We put a lot of things in place. Cyril's desire was for it to work from Monte-Carlo and that's exactly what happened.

How do these changes manifest?

In the races, we have always had a very good team. It's true that at the workshop it wasn't easy to bring everyone together and get everyone to collaborate together. However, for a long time there were difficulties recruiting the right people. With Cyril, we managed to have a lot of quality people. What is even more important is that they enjoy the environment in which they operate. It has not always been the case.

This is your 20^e success. Does getting ahead Ogier on his field on a regular basis made this the greatest success of your career?

It's a very nice victory. I don't think it's the prettiest. However, it does good. Beating Sébastien when he only wanted to win gives some relief to this first place. He could afford to take more risks than us. He would have deserved to win, but this weekend we were stronger than him.

You also carry out a good operation compared to Ott Tänak your teammate?

This is only the beginning of the championship. We all know that success here can have negative consequences in Sweden. We risk losing a lot of points against those who start further.

What can you aim for in Sweden?

If there are real winter conditions with ice, it will be fun. If there is fresh snow, we are aware that it will be very complicated. You shouldn't have too much hope about this event.

Comments collected by Loïc Rocci