Leading the World Rally Championship, Neuville attempted an attack on the day’s final special stage but made a small mistake. Competing with the M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 car without a hybrid, Sesks remained in fifth place by a narrow margin of one-tenth of a second ahead of Hyundai star Neuville.
This meant that Neuville secured six conditional WRC points for his sixth place on Saturday evening. Fifth place would have brought two more points.
“It’s frustrating. But it was a good afternoon. One little mistake, and I think that’s where, at the end, we lost that tenth which was missing. But it is what it is.” Neuville summarised to RallyJournal.com
“We did what we could. We pushed very hard this afternoon because we felt like there was an opportunity, especially after Martins’ mistake. But we missed out by one tenth. So, it’s frustrating because it’s two extra points and a better starting position for tomorrow,” Neuville added.
Neuville’s teammate Ott Tänak stopped his driving day on Saturday during the midday service because the Estonian wanted to focus on Sunday, when there are still many valuable points at stake. Tänak had already lost his game on Friday when he retired immediately in the morning after hitting a deer that had jumped onto the road.
Neuville questioned Tänak’s decision. When the Estonian dropped out of the afternoon loop, Neuville’s starting position weakened slightly.
“It was definitely not a help for us, that’s for sure. Each car you can have in front cleaning the road is an advantage. Especially in a championship fight where every single point really counts. I think it was a mistake,” Neuville said.
Neuville has performed excellently on Sundays this season, when points have been distributed with the new system. The maximum haul on the final day is 12 points.
“Tomorrow is a new rally. It’s important to take points and push hard; that’s for sure,” the Belgian planned.
On the final day of Rally Poland, four special stages will be run.
