Toyota’s Elfyn Evans suffered technical issues during the morning loop, dropping him to eighth overall and out of the battle for victory.
Hyundai’s only hope, Thierry Neuville, took advantage and moved up to the top three in the overall standings. While the Belgian is no longer fighting for the win, he still has a chance to secure a good haul of conditional championship points.
Hyundai has struggled with car settings this weekend, and the same story continued on Saturday. The car did not suit Neuville’s driving style at all, and good times remained elusive. Neuville even mentioned feeling scared in the car, especially on the high-speed Ouninpohja special stage.
“It’s just because there are plenty of surprises and things doesn’t work. I mean, it’s clearly visible. It didn’t work for either of my team-mates as well,” Neuville complained.
“So we definitely have a problem we need to work on. However, now we are here, we are stuck with it and we have to optimise the afternoon. But I’m P3 so I need to take advantage of that,” Neuville planned.
The problem exists, but the solution does not. At least not yet.
“I don’t know, to be honest. We’re going to see after the weekend,” Neuville stated.
Evans’ drop out of the lead battle significantly eased Neuville’s task and will continue to do so.
“There’s no need for pushing. Try to score some points, then tomorrow I have a better day,” Neuville predicted.
