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Belgium’s Thierry Neuville, behind the wheel of a Hyundai, held off Volkswagen duo Jari-Matti Latvala and triple world champion Sebastien Ogier to win the Rally of Sardinia yesterday.
Neuville and his closest rivals avoided taking any unnecessary risks over yesterday’s closing four special stages to get points on the world championship board led by Ogier.
This was Neuville’s second win after his debut WRC success in Germany two years ago. He posted the quickest times in stages 16 and 18 and came in 24sec clear of Latvala. Ogier was over a minute behind.
French driver Eric Camilli in a Ford was quickest in the 17th stage with Ogier ending a frustrating time in Sardinia by topping the times in the 19th and final special.
Neuville reflected on his change of fortune after an indifferent start to the season.
“Winning was the aim after two less than successful rallies in Argentina and Portugal. Here we knew that with our position on the road we had a good opportunity to make a go of things.”
Latvala said he had accepted on Saturday it was going to be tough making up the time on Neuville. “He drove a really good rally, without any mistakes and deserves the win,” he said.
Ogier, whose chances of victory were hampered by having to ‘sweep’ the dirt and dust of the Sardinian roads as championship leader, leads the title standings on 137 points from his teammate Andreas Mikkelsen, who crashed out of the rally on Saturday, on 67 points, with Neuville’s team mate Dani Sordo splitting the pair on 68 points.
Rally of Sardinia standings
1. Thierry Neuville-Nicolas Gilsoul (BEL/Hyundai i20) 3:35:25.8
2. Jari-Matti Latvala-Mikka Anttila (FIN/VW Polo-R) +24.8
3. Sebastien Ogier-Julien Ingrassia (FRA/VW Polo-R) +1:37.8
Drivers standings (top three)
1. Sebastien Ogier (FRA) 132 pts
2. Dani Sordo (ESP) 68
3. Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR) 67
Constructors standings (top three)
1. Volkswagen Motorsport 178 pts
2. Hyundai Motorsport 108
3. M-Sport (Ford) 90
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