The defending champion ultimately edged out his team-mate Adrien Fourmaux by a slender margin of 1.3 seconds, while another team-mate, Ott Tänak, was only 2.3 seconds behind the Belgian. In the end, Hyundai decided late on Sunday evening that Fourmaux retired into the finish, which meant Tänak gained a few more points for his World Championship battle.
Neuville’s season has been plagued by bad luck, but in Paraguay he enjoyed a touch of fortune on the final stage, when a heavy downpour caught out Fourmaux and rally winner Sébastien Ogier. Neuville was also fastest on Super Sunday as well as on the Power Stage that closed the event.
“You always have to fight until the very end. Even on the final stage of this rally it was clear that anything can happen. Of course, I feel disappointed for Adrien and Alex (co-driver Corria),” Neuville said.
“On the other hand, we didn’t make a single mistake today. We kept pushing hard the whole time, and it paid off.”
On Sunday morning, Neuville also experienced a fright when his radiator started leaking. Fortunately for the Belgian, the issue was resolved in his favour.
“It was a big scare, actually. Lots of cooling liquid was coming out but I find it quickly. The issue was easy to solve,” Neuville summed up.
From Paraguay, Neuville picked up a decent haul of points, but as far as defending his title is concerned, it has come far too late. The Hyundai driver remains fifth in the standings, with a hefty 48-point gap to the top.
The WRC’s newest addition showed its character, even though at first the rally appeared straightforward. High-speed roads combined with numerous jumps and bumps caused plenty of headaches.
“t looked easy from the recce. But once you got into the stages at high speed, with low grip and lots of grip changes, it made it very challenging. I also think that we didn’t have enough grip to feel comfortable and confident in the car,” Neuville explained.
“It made it even more challenging and the pace wasn’t there. So you need to drive and push very hard. And that made it very risky.”
The World Rally Championship continues in two weeks with the next round in Chile.
