Leading the WRC, Neuville is the first car on Friday’s special stages and he took full advantage of his starting position right from the morning’s opening stage. Neuville set a clear fastest time.
The Belgian beat Toyota’s Elfyn Evans by a substantial margin of 6.6 seconds. Neuville himself was surprised when he saw his excellent time.
“I tried. I had hell of an understeer so I was struggling, grip was much lower than expected. Felt like the tyre was overheating after 3km’s. Felt not so great, but the time is great,” Neuville remarked.
Evans, who won the Croatian round last year, found himself in the role of chaser right from the first special stage.
“More slippery than expected. Struggling a little bit,” Evans stated.
Conditions on the stage worsened after each car, as cutting corners brought dirt onto the road. Champion driver Sebastien Ogier, who clocked the third-fastest time, was already 14.5 seconds behind Neuville’s leading time.
Estonian star Ott Tänak was fourth on the special stage but lost 17.8 seconds.
“It’s so much mud already. Car is behaving really nervous as well, difficult to take much confidence,” Tänak said.
Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta, Hyundai’s Andreas Mikkelsen, and M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster were even further behind the leader. Each of them complained about the muddy conditions in the corners after the stage.
Seven more special stages are scheduled for Friday in the Croatia Rally. The event concludes on Sunday.
Current standings after SS1/20 of the Croatia Rally:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | 12:42.3 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +6.6 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +14.5 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +17.8 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +20.4 |
| 6. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +36.4 |
| 7. | Andreas Mikkelsen | Hyundai | +50.7 |
| 8. | Nikolay Gryazin | Citroen | +53.0 |
| 9. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +58.0 |
| 10. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +1:03.8 |
Croatia Rally itinerary (CET):
Thursday, April 18 09:01 Shakedown: Okić (3.65 km) Friday, April 19 08:28 SS1: Krašić - Sošice 1 (23.63 km) 09:41 SS2: Jaškovo - Mali Modruš Potok 1 (9.48 km) 10:39 SS3: Ravna Gora - Skrad 1 (10.13 km) 11:47 SS4: Platak 1 (16.63 km) 14:02 Tyre fitting zone (15 min) 14:45 SS5: Platak 2 (16.63 km) 15:58 SS6: Ravna Gora - Skrad 2 (10.13 km) 17:16 SS7: Jaškovo - Mali Modruš Potok 2 (9.48 km) 18:09 SS8: Krašić - Sošice 2 (23.63 km) Saturday, April 20 07:31 SS9: Smerovišće - Grdanjci 1 (15.72 km) 08:24 SS10: Stojdraga - Gornja Vas 1 (20.77 km) 10:05 SS11: Vinski Vrh - Duga Resa 1 (8.78 km) 11:03 SS12: Pećurkovo Brdo - Mrežnički Novaki 1 (9.11 km) 13:03 Service (40 min) 14:31 SS13: Smerovišće - Grdanjci 2 (15.72 km) 15:24 SS14: Stojdraga - Gornja Vas 2 (20.77 km) 17:05 SS15: Vinski Vrh - Duga Resa 2 (8.78 km) 18:03 SS16: Pećurkovo Brdo - Mrežnički Novaki 2 (9.11 km) Sunday, April 21 07:08 SS17: Trakošćan - Vrbno 1 (13.15 km) 08:35 SS18: Zagorska Sela - Kumrovec 1 (14.24 km) 10:23 SS19: Trakošćan - Vrbno 2 (13.15 km) 13:15 SS20: Zagorska Sela - Kumrovec 2 (14.24 km) *Power Stage
