Posted in: 11/09/2022 – 14:18
Lamia (Greece) (AFP) – Belgian driver Thierry Neuville on Sunday won the Greek Acropolis Rally, the tenth stage of the World Rally Championship out of 13, while the South Korean manufacturer dominated the top three with Ott Tanak of Estonia and Dani Sordo of Spain in second and third places, respectively.
It is the first time in Hyundai’s history that it occupies the top three positions in a World Tour (WRC) since its participation in 2014, and the second this year for a single manufacturer following Toyota’s achievement in the Kenya Safari Rally, where the Japanese manufacturer dominated the top four places.
Neuville achieved his first victory this year and his first since the Belgian Ypres Rally 2021, and the 16th in his career in the world championship, following controlling the last day of competitions and maintaining a 15-second difference between him and Tanak, the 2019 world champion, with the end of the last sixteenth stage of the “Power” Stage”, with a distance of 16 km, which awards the top five points.
“I am very happy for the team, because the start of the season was very complicated,” Neuville said.
“It is the first time we have achieved a triple (positions) and this achievement rewards years of work,” said the Belgian, who joined Hyundai since his beginnings in the “WRC” and achieved all his victories, noting that he was runner-up to the five-time world champion.
French Pierre-Louis Loubet (Ford Puma), the leader, following his compatriot Sebastien Loeb, the nine-times world champion, left on Saturday morning due to an electrical problem at the end of the eighth stage, fourth following he faced several problems on the same day (a punctured tire), benefiting from the withdrawal of Welsh Toyota driver Elvin Evans on Al Wasl Road to Stage 14 for the last day due to a turbocharger problem.
Finnish youngster Kali Rovanpera, the leader in the drivers’ standings and chasing the first world title in his career at the age of 21, was not better, as he made a mistake behind the wheel of his Toyota on Saturday when he was in the points table (hit a tree), to drop to 15th place outside the points, But he compensated by scoring the second fastest time in the “Power Stage” to get 4 points, raising his score to 207 points.
It is the second rally in a row, following Belgium, that Rovanpera leaves empty-handed in the final standings, knowing that this year he won five rounds (Sweden, Croatia, Portugal, Kenya and Estonia).
Tanak, the second-ranked drivers (154), who added to his score the points for the fastest time in the last stage (5), and Neuville third (131) reduced the difference with the Finn to 53 and 76 points, respectively.
Neuville scored the fastest times in 5 speed stages, compared to 4 for Loeb and Tanak, 2 for Lobe and one for Sordo.
The next round will be held in New Zealand from the 29th of this month to the 2nd of October, before the last two rounds are held in Spain in October and Japan in November.
Ranking of the top five in the rally:
1- Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) 3:34.52 hours
2- Estonian Ott Tanak (Hyundai) 15 seconds behind
3- Spaniard Dani Sordo (Hyundai), 1:49.7 minutes
4- Frenchman Pierre-Louis Loubet (M-Sport Ford), with a difference of 3:42.2 d.
5- Ireland’s Greg Breen (M-Sport Ford) with a difference of 4:09 d.
World Drivers’ Championship standings:
1. Finn Kali Rovanpera (Toyota) 207 points
2. Estonian Out Tanak (Hyundai) 154
3. Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) 131
4. Welshman Elvin Evans (Toyota) 116
5- Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota) 100
Constructors’ Championship standings:
1- Toyota 404 points
2- Hyundai 341
3- M-Sport/Ford 214
4- Toyota 112
© 2022 AFP
