Kalle Rovanperä is the outstanding leader of the WRC. A position that, of course, is based on his three rally victories, but also on the problems and failures of his rivals. Own Thierry Neuville, second overall in the championship, 46 points behind the Toyota driver, he thinks so. In fact, the Belgian assures that the Hyundai i20 N Rally1’s ongoing reliability issues are becoming very frustrating as they contribute to Kalle Rovanperä slipping away from the championship lead. The last episode of this disparate path took place at the Rally de Portugal.
Thierry Neuville remains Rovanperä’s closest rival in the standings of the WRC after the Rally de Portugal, even if the Belgian could not get past fifth position in the Portuguese stages. The big problem for Neuville is that he has had to deal with mechanical and technical problems in the four rallies held to date.. In the case of Portugal, Thierry had to overcome a driveshaft problem during a tarmac section. Neuville went from being 1:46.4 out of first place after lapping seven seconds behind the leader.
Reflecting on this situation and the reliability problems and errors of other rallies, Thierry Neuville has assured: «I think there was a podium at the end of the Rally de Portugal for us. We could even have fought for the victory, I think it was possible. It would have been difficult, but we were just behind Elfyn Evans before the problems, so we would have had that option. Unfortunately, the problem came and we have had to do the best we could to survive this situation».
«It’s getting harder and harder to stay calm, to be honest. It is very frustrating, we are here to fight for the WRC. I have won rallies and been on the podium, but the ultimate goal is to get my first title. We can see that now a pilot is already moving away. A pretty big gap has built up and making it very difficult to catch up again. We can only congratulate Toyota on its performance and reliability, which is something that we clearly lack. That’s making a big difference so far» assures Thierry Neuville by way of analysis.
In this line, the Belgian has concluded: «That is why they are so strong and Kalle can add victory after victory. This is something we need. We are close to Toyota in performance, but we are not yet at their level of reliability. We have to work a little more. I feel very comfortable in the car and I feel like I know exactly what needs to be done to make it faster. Nevertheless, right now the question is not to be faster, but to achieve the reliability that we have not had until now».
Photos: Red Bull Content Pool