Thierry Neuville says finishing runner-up at Secto Rally Finland feels ‘more like a victory’ for him after he closed to within 36 of the lead in this year’s FIA World Rally Championship.
From early on Saturday, the Belgian had no answer for the speed of eventual winner Elfyn Evans, who triumphed by 39.1s to make it a second success at the Jyvaskyla-based competition.
It was also the Welsh driver’s second win of the current campaign, which he capped off in style by setting the quickest time through the end-of-rally Power Stage to collect another five bonus points.
Despite the gulf between the top two positions, Neuville was pleased with the progress he has made at an event Toyota Gazoo Racing has largely dominated in recent times, and the confidence he has discovered with the i20 N Rally1 car on smooth, fast and flowing gravel fixtures like Finland.
“It feels a bit like a victory for me to be honest, especially with two challenging rallies in a row now and ending up in P2 on the back of a strong performance it is a good feeling,” he said. “Seeing the team going in the right direction – evolving – and the car getting quicker as well, it gives us a lot of motivation for the rest of the season.
“It is a big relief to be back on the Rally Finland podium after ten years of what I would say was a struggle. It shows that the team – and the changes that are ongoing – are heading in the right direction. I think it is clearly a sign that we have to carry on. I am happy we have a bit of a break as this weekend was quite exhausting, but we have done the job.”
As Evans carved his advantage on the penultimate day, Neuville conceded to journalists he was powerless to hang onto the coattails of the GR Yaris Rally1 driver and soon decided to preserve second place with co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe instead of risking everything in pursuit of victory.
“I would say he was impossible to catch. I tried and I tried a couple of times to push very hard and even if everything felt really perfect, Elfyn always came from behind a little bit quicker,” he said.
“Sometimes there was not that much in there but he was always that little bit quicker, always able to increase his gap and I felt there was no chance for us to really keep on going and the point came where we had to settle for second.
“I think it was a clever choice to get through on a good rhythm and being just behind in case of a spin, a puncture or whatever – that was our main target from Saturday afternoon onwards.”
Given the size of the gulf between Evans and Neuville, Hyundai Motorsport’s Team Principal, Cyril Abiteboul, says the Korean manufacturer has work to do.
“While the result is a strong one and positive for the Championship, we can see we are still missing out and we need to make more steps like we have done recently if we want to become a constant contender against Toyota,” said Abiteboul.
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