Thierry Neuville ultimately emerged as the king of the day and leads the rally heading into Sunday.
Neuville’s advantage over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans is just 4.9 seconds before Sunday’s final four special stages, but the Belgian has already clinched a handsome haul of provisional championship points on Saturday. Of course, to secure these, Neuville must still make it to the finish on Sunday.
Rain was predicted for Saturday, but ultimately less fell than expected. Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala candidly admitted that the team misjudged the situation.
“In the afternoon, it looked like Hyundai had taken two hard tyres and when the rain came, it seemed like it might open up an opportunity for us. For a moment, I thought that perhaps we were on better tyres overall. However, the rain stopped, although we were expecting much more. We played it safe because we didn’t want to take any risks. That side of things didn’t work out,” Latvala admitted directly to RallyJournal.com.
“Neuville managed to push harder with two hard tyres and take special stage wins. That put him back in the lead,” he continued.
Toyota, however, did secure a substantial points haul with Evans’ second place and Sebastien Ogier’s third place.
“We had to think sensibly, as the points for the manufacturers’ championship are more important to us. They are good from Saturday, and we needed them. That’s why we didn’t want to take any big risks,” Latvala reflected.
“If you have second and third places, you can be satisfied. Now that’s not enough. On Sunday, we need to go out there trying and should be able to compete for the win of the day.”
The Croatia Rally has so far been a fabulous battle. For an asphalt event, it has been exceptionally tight fighting for the top positions.
“It was an incredible battle. However, the conditions were not easy. There was a lot of sand and dirt on the road. Of course, the situation would have been much more difficult if it had rained on top of that. It’s precise work. If you looked during the service, both drivers spent a lot of time watching the special stages on video. They were rewinding them and going through places. Eating was left for a short while. It shows that everyone is grinding and looking for the best form until the last moment, just like on a stage. Apparently, Neuville did the same. It’s hard to make differences, and all small things must be done,” Latvala said.
Latvala believes that the intense battle will also continue on the rally’s last day, Sunday.
“I know Neuville wants to win the entire rally and also be the fastest on Sunday. Elfyn has been good on Sundays this year. And you can tell Ogier certainly won’t give up. These three men have stood out in this rally. They have clearly been at a different pace than the others. I believe the battle between them will also be fought tomorrow. Of course, tyre choices have to be spot on if one wants to be the fastest of the day.”
