Neuville finished fifth in the rally, more than ten minutes behind winner Kalle Rovanperä. However, on Super Sunday’s sprint race, Neuville was in top form, collecting important additional points throughout the day.
The Belgian now leads the championship by six points over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans. Neuville showed a fighter’s spirit in the Safari, suffering several technical faults and having to repair his car both during liaisons and mid-stage.
Even on the final day, Sunday, Neuville had a tough time after hitting a large rock in the middle of his driving line. Fortunately, not too much time was lost, although the rear suspension did give way.
“We surpassed ourselves, despite all the difficulties we still encountered. We once again did the impossible to get big points,” Neuville glows on the Belgian channel RTBF’s website.
“We can be satisfied, especially since we are increasing our lead in the championship.”
Neuville admitted that perhaps a smaller impact would have sufficed, but still, Sunday netted him 11 points.
“We had no choice. After all the problems we had, we said to ourselves that nothing could happen to us today. We weren’t completely right when we saw the big stones on the road. One of them damaged our suspension,” Neuville summarized.
“However, we managed to make it back to service, repair the car, and then go back on the attack. We secured the five points from the Power Stage and an additional six points on Sunday.”
Neuville is extremely pleased with the start of his season. Clearly, if he wants to clinch his first championship, the Belgian needs to continue collecting good points.
“In Monte Carlo, we scored a good haul of points. In Sweden, we performed better than expected, especially since I had to open the road,” Neuville recapped.
“And here, we opened again, and suffered a puncture. We were second on Saturday, then we had a mechanical breakdown, but we managed to bring the car back, which was quite improbable. I don’t think we really could have done better.”
The WRC continues in Croatia in a couple of weeks. Heading into the tarmac rally as the championship leader gives Neuville the best possible starting position.
“The goal was to leave here leading the championship to ensure a favorable road position in Croatia. We’re well-placed, but Evans is tough to beat on tarmac. Nevertheless, we’ll aim to score big points once again.”
