Neuville lies second in the rally, only 3.4 seconds behind M-Sport Ford’s Latvian surprise package Martins Sesks. The Belgian has a lot at stake, as he hardly wants to become the third driver in history to go a season without a WRC rally win after claiming the championship.
The Belgian driver lamented his morning suspension issue, which cost him time. On the other hand, the numerous punctures in Saudi Arabia have eaten up time for every driver.
“The situation is tight, but we lost 20–25 seconds this morning due to a damper fault. Without that we would have built a nice advantage for tomorrow. On the other hand, everyone has had punctures. We’ve had two punctures and one slow puncture over the weekend. Fortunately we haven’t lost too much time,” Neuville said.
Although Neuville is not fighting for the title this year, he feels Saudi Arabia is not the place where champions should be decided. Championship leader Elfyn Evans ended up in an almost impossible position, with the Welshman opening the road in Saudi Arabia. The puncture-ridden rally has proved extremely unpredictable.
“This is a poor rally to decide the championship. This event shouldn’t be the last on the calendar. Elfyn has led the series all year, but here his chances are very small. Then he had a puncture as well, which made things even more difficult,” Neuville noted.
“This rally definitely has its place in the championship. The images are great and the driving is fun. Maybe we need to do a bit of work on tyre reliability and move this rally slightly earlier in the season.”
