Neuville had to start as the snow plow on the tracks around Umeå, and it took its toll. On Friday, so much snow fell from the sky that the Belgian immediately dropped out of the lead battle.
Neuville ultimately collected 18 points from the competition, just one point less than his teammate Esapekka Lappi, who won the entire competition.
“I have to be happy with the result. I would have liked to be on the podium, but given the conditions we faced and a bit of speed missing on Saturday and Sunday morning, there wasn’t much more we could do, ” Neuville summarized his weekend.
Neuville now has a three-point lead over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, who finished second in Sweden and scraped together a total of 24 points from the event.
“It was a generally difficult rally for us, but we knew that coming here. We took the points we could.”
“We had to get through without any mistakes, and I think we might have been the only crew who didn’t have any.”
Check the WRC points standings here
Hyundai’s season has started successfully. There have been two competitions and as many victories.
In the season-opening Rally Monte Carlo, Neuville drove to victory, and in Sweden, it was Lappi’s turn to spray the champagne from the highest podium.
Neuville gave high praise to Lappi, who was celebrating a victory in the WRC for only the second time.
“Lappi’s victory makes the whole team very happy. It’s important, even if the performance wasn’t the greatest, especially on the first passes. However, two victories in three weeks provide great motivation for us, considering we only secured two wins in the entire 2023 season,” Neuville remarked.
“It’s a great victory for Esapekka after his very difficult end to the season in 2023. I’m very happy for him. It’s motivating for the members of the team, who work seven days a week,” the Belgian exclaimed.
