Hyundai’s hopes for their first driver’s championship took a major step forward during the opening loop on Saturday, when Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier was forced to retire. Now, with championship leader Thierry Neuville and second-placed Ott Tänak, Hyundai’s title chances have improved significantly.
Neuville, who holds a solid lead in the championship, has executed his plan perfectly in the gravel event in Chile. The Belgian Hyundai star had to clear the roads on Friday, but he didn’t fall too far behind in the fight for the lead.
“It was clearly visible that the different road conditions today give us much more chance of fighting for a better result. But obviously, all hopes for a good result are gone after yesterday,” Neuville said upon arriving at the midday service on Saturday.
Neuville is now in fourth place in the rally, meaning he’s set for good conditional points by Saturday evening.
“We’ve already caught the two positions we were targeting this morning. So it’s all about defending our position this afternoon. There’s not much more we can do,” Neuville commented.
“We’re in the middle of nowhere right now, so we need to stay out of trouble.”
On Friday, the stages at Rally Chile were very fast, whereas Saturday’s stages have featured slower, more technical roads. According to Neuville, Hyundai’s Rally1 car has performed better on the Saturday stages.
“For us, the biggest change is the road position. Also, some setup changes have obviously worked better. And generally, I would say that our car works slightly better on this profile,” Neuville said.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans leads the rally after nine stages, with Kalle Rovanperä in second place ahead of Hyundai’s Tänak and Neuville.
Three more stages remain on Saturday after the service break, and the event concludes on Sunday.
