Neuville’s teammate, Dani Sordo, encountered problems on the final special stage of the afternoon loop. Sordo suffered a puncture, and parts of the car’s bodywork came loose. As a result, Sordo’s car filled with dust, causing him to lose significant time.
Thus, with no major issues throughout the rally so far, Neuville climbed to the top and leads the rally heading into the afternoon loop with a 35.3-second advantage over Sordo.
“Similar to yesterday, we had a plan. We stuck to the plan, didn’t panic, and carried on. We’ve seen a lot of things happening around us. We had trouble yesterday as well, so I think, at the moment, we can’t complain,” Neuville summarised.
There is no mid-day service in the Acropolis Rally on Saturday, which adds its own challenges.
“We need a smart approach this afternoon and, obviously, a bit of luck, like everyone needs for the second loop,” Neuville added.
So far, Neuville has been the only top driver without any major issues. On Friday, the Belgian’s car wasn’t performing perfectly, but he kept his cool.
“We didn’t panic when the car wasn’t working. We accepted it, knowing that it’s a tough event. But with both feet on the ground, we know that nothing is done,” Neuville explained.
There has already been plenty of tension between championship leader Neuville and his main rival, Sebastien Ogier. On Friday, Ogier took a sharp verbal jab at the Belgian. However, Neuville chose not to engage in the war of words.
“I have no comment on that. Nothing to say” Neuville replied, clearly frustrated.
Neuville’s teammate, Ott Tänak, on the other hand, experienced misfortune on Saturday, suffering two punctures. The problems knocked the Estonian out of the fight for victory, and he is now in fourth place.
“Unfortunately, two punctures. It took a bit of time,” Tänak briefly noted.
“It’s quite a lottery here. In the first place, it was probably my mistake. I didn’t recognise on the recce that there was likely a small, sharp edge or something. But the second one was like in the past, and just in the most narrow, fastest place, right in the line. So the option was either to crash or to drive over it,” Tänak summed up.
