Rally Japan – Will Thierry Neuville achieve a victory this year?

Having become a regular actor in the WRC from 2012, Thierry Neuville He had to wait two years, until the 2014 Deutschland Rally, before finally adding his name to the World Rally Championship winners' list. Since then, he has racked up 21 more victories across all surfaces of the calendar. Knowing at 37 that his WRC career is more behind him than ahead, perhaps one or two more wins won't change anything. However, Thierry has always been a fighter, and not having stood on the top step of the podium for 15 consecutive races must surely be affecting him. He will certainly give it his all during the rally from Japan to interrupt this series which is nonetheless symptomatic of the problems of Hyundai for many months.

Neuville probably doesn't care, but he could well join the club of champions who went home empty-handed after winning their title. The last time such a situation occurred was in 2002. Crowned champion at the end of 2001 while driving for Subaru at Prodrive, Richard Burns didn't win any of the 14 rounds he ran in 2002 with the team's 206 WRC. Peugeot where he had signed, taking the number 1 jersey with him. Before the Englishman passed away in 2005 from cancer, Carlos Sainz had also suffered the humiliation of an exercise without champagne.

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Röhrl, Sainz, and Blomqvist experienced it.

Official driver at Toyota In 1992, the Spaniard had obtained his 2^e Crown. Forced to leave the Japanese manufacturer at the end of the year, King Carlos found a replacement with Lancia. Driving a privately owned car lacking development, he failed to win any of the nine rallies in 1993. This scenario was actually more common in the 1980s. Drivers didn't have multi-year contracts then, and the competition was undoubtedly fiercer. In 1980, almost unintentionally, Walter Röhrl achieved his crowning achievement while driving for Fiat.

For the following year, he had an arrangement to move with Classic Mercedes for sale, but the program fell through before it even began. The German had only made one appearance in the world championship in 1981 at the Sanremo (on a Porsche Almeras (Editor's note) where he had retired. At the end of 81, Ari Vatanen had clinched the title at the wheel of his famous Escort RS Rothmans. However, this did not guarantee him a seat for 1982. The Finn was unable to defend his title and instead competed in several British championships. Since 1979, when this Drivers' trophy was created, there have also been instances where a competitor has won the ultimate prize, only to have their equipment become outdated and unable to maintain their position at the top.

Stig Blomqvist learned this the hard way in 1985. Crowned champion in a long-wheelbase Audi Quattro in 1984, the Swede was unable to achieve anything for the next 12 months with the short-wheelbase version or even with the Quattro Sport E2 against the Peugeot 205 T16, which had suddenly surpassed the German benchmark. Juha Kankkunen suffered a slightly different fate. Winner in 1987 with Lancia, the Norwegian chose to join Toyota for 1988, but the launch of the Celica GT4 only came mid-year, preventing him from winning a single race. The list of champions who have remained silent after their victory therefore includes some big names in the sport. Thierry Neuville has two more races to avoid being added to that list.