Toyota’s WRC team started Saturday’s competition day in a double lead, but by evening, Neuville had forged ahead to the top spot. The Belgian launched his assault early in the morning, climbing to the heels of Toyota’s Elfyn Evans and Sebastien Ogier.
By the end of the afternoon loop, Neuville blasted a stellar fastest time, moving him into first place with a 3.3-second margin over Ogier. At the same time, the Hyundai driver secured a conditional 18 points, as the new scoring system allocates the first points on Saturday evening to the top ten overall. To claim the points, drivers must complete Sunday’s stages and reach the finish in Monaco.
Neuville and Evans are championship favourites this season. Toyota team principal Latvala revealed that Evans chose not to drive on the edge during Saturday afternoon’s stages like Neuville and Ogier.
“Elfyn gave in during the lunch break and did not join the attack. On Friday, he was the first car on the road, but now the situation levelled off as they started from similar positions. He didn’t want to take risks, instead starting to think more about points,” Latvala told to RallyJournal.com.
Neuville’s rise to the lead also meant that Hyundai is in line for better points in the manufacturers’ championship.
“It’s a bit annoying because Ogier was so close. I was pretty sure Ogier could win today. But somehow Thierry found extra grit for the last stage.
“But it’s too early to think about points too much as there are so many conditional factors. We just have to think about racing tomorrow and see what the outcome is. The gap is so small that tomorrow it’s all about racing. The fastest of tomorrow will also be the rally winner,” Latvala said.
On Sunday, separate daily points are available for the top seven. The fastest driver of the final day earns seven points, and the seventh earns one point. Additionally, extra points are available on the Power Stage as usual.
Latvala predicts that the top two in the round will go full throttle on Sunday’s three stages. Hyundai’s Ott Tänak, currently fourth in the round, will also have a say.
“Neuville will definitely attack since winning this event is important to him. Elfyn is probably thinking more about points, and I don’t think he’ll attack much. Tänak and Ogier are also pushing hard. Neuville has more to lose than Ogier (who is only competing in part of the season’s rallies), but I’m sure he’s not thinking about that,” Latvala mused.
