First, Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville overshot a right-hand bend and damaged his car after hitting a ditch. Despite this, Neuville managed to continue, although one of his rear wheels was severely bent out of alignment.
Immediately after, Neuville’s teammate Ott Tänak experienced a harrowing moment. The Estonian driver went off into a ditch but managed to return to the road. However, the car suffered significant damage in the process, especially to the rear.
“I was quite sure there would be a bit of a crash, but in the end, I was surprised to get out of there and make it to service. Obviously, there was significant damage – I didn’t expect that much – but in the end, it’s just plastic,” Tänak recounted.
Tänak admitted that luck played a part in his survival of the incident. His rally nearly ended on Monte-Carlo’s sixth special stage.
“I was really grateful to get out of there. It was a big surprise, especially at quite high speed, which could have caused more damage. Thankfully, the walls supported us and pushed us back onto the road, so it turned out to be a positive outcome,” Tänak said with relief.
Tänak’s pace didn’t impress much on Thursday, but by Friday morning, he seemed to be finding his rhythm.
“On the first stage, we didn’t get our tyre info quite right. For the last stage, we didn’t have any good tyres. The call wasn’t ideal, and we lost out quite a bit as a result,” Tänak explained.
There are still three special stages to go on Friday in Monte-Carlo, and the challenge will not get any easier.
“There’s one stage we haven’t done yet, and it could still be quite icy. Let’s see what the weather does, but the other stages should have less ice,” Tänak predicted.
