Thierry Neuville, victorious after a year of famine: “It’s a relief! »

Finally ! This is probably what must have been said Thierry Neuville upon arrival of Rally of the Acropolis. the Belgian ended a drought of almost a year without a victory in WRC. La dernière remontait au Rallye de Catalogne, en octobre 2021. Un an où le pilote Hyundai a souffert, notamment avec le passage à l’ère électrique et les débuts ratés de la i20 Rally1. “The season has been difficult so far, getting the victory after a very difficult weekend in Belgium is a relief! ", declared a delighted Thierry Neuville at the end of the “Rally of the Gods”.

After his dramatic exit from the track at home in Ypres, while leading the rally, the Walloon took his revenge in Greece, leading a historic hat-trick for Hyundai, his team since 2014. The most important thing is that we have a 1-2-3 for the team. After all these years we finally got it and it's a historic moment for the brand and the team, rejoiced the native of Saint-Vith. Everyone worked hard for this and it’s a great reward. »

“I was just scared I might have a problem with the car.” confides Neuville

Thierry Neuville a profité des mésaventures des M-Sport and Toyota devant lui pour subtiliser la première place samedi. En bataille avec Ott Tänak, like the Ypres Rally, the Belgian finally ensured victory thanks in particular to team instructions at Hyundai. “It was a long and difficult weekend, but we managed to finish in front. We knew we had to benefit from our starting position on Friday, even though there were some very fast riders behind us. We really pushed on Saturday to catch up with the leaders and everything went well. In reality, the Power Stage was the most complicated stage, it was destroyed! I was just scared that I might have a problem with the car. »

In the championship, Thierry Neuville remains third, 76 points behind leader Kalle Rovanperä and 23 points behind his teammate, Ott Tänak. If the title hopes are very slim, the Belgian could still grab a 2nd place in the championship. A position of vice-world champion that he has already occupied 5 times in his career…

ALSO READ > Neuville regains victory on the Acropolis Rally, historic hat-trick for Hyundai!