Thierry Neuville: “It seemed like an eternity”

You who haven't won for almost a year, how do you feel after this success?

The last time was in Spain and there haven't been many podiums since then either. It seemed like an eternity. Getting back to winning ways is a good feeling. I also have the impression that there are special emotions because we won a hat-trick. This is what we have worked hard for all these years. We have had difficult times and better times, but we have never achieved such a result before. To do it here is an incredible feeling and I think everyone in the team, and especially those who have been with me since the beginning, feel very proud.

Thierry Neuville is the first Belgian to win the Rally of the Acropolis © Nikos Katikis / DPPI

The Acropolis 2022 seemed to offer a particularly complicated challenge to take on!

It is the characteristics of the stages, but also the route that transform this event into a very selective challenge. Friday was a long day with warm temperatures. It was exhausting. Then we faced completely different road conditions and we had to adapt to be good over the three days. I immediately felt confident with the Hyundai, which makes things much easier.

Do you think this hat-trick will silence the criticism surrounding the team?

I think we've achieved this for a few races now. This is the fourth consecutive rally where all three cars have run without major problems. Ott was able to achieve two victories, which shows that the speed and reliability are there. He was able to beat the Toyota in Finland, we were both in the lead in Ypres and there again, I consider that we were the strongest. This confirms that we have good momentum, but we must be careful. It is indeed not because we have had some correct results that we should believe that we have achieved our goal. It seems to me that all the drivers agree that we still have improvements to make and that we must continue to push hard to keep this momentum.

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