Thierry Neuville: “A positive conclusion”

The main issue in the Australian final of the 2016 World Rally Championship remained obtaining the honorary title of vice-world champion. Andreas Mikkelsen and Thierry Neuville were thus in the fight, the first to place in runner-up for the first time in his career, the second to regain a rank already reached in 2013 with the Qatar World Rally Team.

Very quickly, Andreas Mikkelsen, chasing behind Thierry Neuville in the standings before this event, took control of the rally to never let them go until asserting themselves for the last official release of the Volkswagen Polo R.

On the Neuville side, the fight was intense with his teammates at Hyundai Hayden Paddon and Dani Sordo. The New Zealander's error in SS20 allowed the Belgian to definitively climb onto the podium and thus secure second place in the general classification in the championship.

“We had difficult conditions on the first stages with our position on the road, so it was not easy, comments the former Citroën driver. We focused on maintaining clean driving and we were able to achieve our goals: the podium and finishing second in the championship.

It was particularly nice to finish the rally with points in the Power Stage. We were on pace with the car all weekend so I'm happy to end the season in this positive way. »

A 2016 campaign that was complicated at the start of the season, with only one podium in five events (at Monte-Carlo). “Demoted” to the Hyundai Motorsport N team in Portugal and Italy, the native of Saint-Vith nevertheless took advantage of this period to score his first success on gravel in Sardinia.

An electric shock for the Belgian who subsequently had a string of good performances, never leaving the top 4 until the end of the year, with five consecutive podiums since Germany. “Since Sardinia we have been able to show the speed and consistency necessary to be real contenders, underlines Neuville. I’m already looking forward to starting 2017.”

An uncertain time, the future of the 28-year-old driver will still be written with Hyundai, with the new 20 i2017, which will be presented at the Monza Rally Show in early December.

Discover the full report and analysis of the Rally Australia, produced by our special correspondent, in issue 2090 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.