Neuville delivered first WRC title after rival’s ‘complete disaster’

The Belgian driver looked like he might have his hopes dashed on day one of Rally Japan when he suffered a turbocharger failure and plummeted to the bottom of the order.

At the end of SS9, the Hyundai driver sat a lowly 15th and nearly eight minutes off the lead of title combatant Ott Tanak.

Neuville fought back on day two, rising to seventh at the end of Saturday to edge closer to the title, netting four of the six points he needed to clinch the championship.

At the head of the timesheets sat Tanak who had to hope Neuville befell more bad luck on Sunday to have a chance of winning.

However, his charge came undone in dramatic fashion when he understeered off the road on the first stage of Sunday morning and crashed.

News soon broke of Tanak’s demise and Neuville began celebrating with his co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe.

All told, Neuville wound up sixth while victory went to Toyota’s Elfyn Evans.

“What a fantastic day,” said Neuville.

“Words cannot describe how we are feeling. I think we deserved the title after such a challenging year.

“We had a lot more pressure than we would have liked coming to this final event, but we managed our weekend as best as we could with the problems we had.”

While Neuville celebrated, his teammate Tanak was left heartbroken.

“It is difficult to describe what happened other than complete disaster,” said the Estonian.

“We weren’t expecting slippery conditions in the corner and as soon as we arrived, the front washed out. It was too far off the road to recover the car.

“While we are disappointed to end the season this way, we have to recognise what a great season this has been for Thierry.

“He has been very consistent, managing the pressure well, and he is a worthy champion.”

Hyundai narrowly missed out on double, failing to secure the manufacturers’ championship, which went the way of Toyota.

Evans finished ahead of teammate Sebastien Ogier while hometown hero Takamoto Kastsuta was fifth.

“After the first stage and the titles were confirmed, we were able to relax a bit and push as hard as we could for the manufacturers’ fight,” said Neuville.

“We went flat out with nothing to lose – we really wanted to bring home that crown for the team, as they really deserved it.

“Sadly, it wasn’t enough this time but everyone in the team should be incredibly proud of the work they have done this year.”