Holding a solid lead in the championship, Neuville aimed to secure his first World Championship title during the season finale. However, he suffered a setback on Friday’s stages when the turbo in his car failed.
The issue cost Neuville over seven and a half minutes as he was forced to limp through the stages. The Belgian eventually arrived at the Friday evening service in 15th place.
Hyundai’s WRC program manager Christian Loriaux expressed regret over the incident.
“First of all, we want to apologise to Thierry because he was doing a fantastic job for the team. He was in in the front when we effectively didn’t expect him to be in the front because for the drivers championship, it was better for him to be safe,” Loriaux said.
“He was doing a fantastic job for the manufacturers’ championship. So again, a big round of applause to him and we apologise.”
According to Loriaux, the issue was caused by the loss of turbo boost pressure.
“We don’t exactly know why, but we think we can fix it. I say ‘we think’ because I’m superstitious and you are never 100% sure, but it’s 99% sure. We’re going to find out what went wrong and replace everything.”
With Neuville’s misfortune, his teammate Ott Tänak now has a chance to re-enter the title fight. However, Tänak would need a flawless performance in Japan, while Neuville must score no more than five points.
Loriaux is confident that Neuville can put the issue behind him and fight back on Saturday.
“It’s difficult for Thierry, but he can catch back a few positions tomorrow. I think he could come back in the top ten, take 1 or 2 points (on Saturday evening). It’s still a long rally,” Loriaux said.
Rally Japan continues on Saturday with seven special stages. The weekend’s first provisional points will be awarded based on Saturday evening’s standings.
