Thierry Neuville feels relief for his victory at Central European, as it has been five months since his latest win in Sardinia, and is looking forward to Rally Japan.
The Belgian driver was struggling with the behavior of his i20N on wet conditions and lost the lead from Kalle Rovanpera at the end of Stage 4 when he overshot a junction. However, he took back the CER lead from Rovanpera after the end of SS11 when the last one slowed down his pace due to the fact that Elfyn Evans stopped on that stage. Since SS11, TN was out in front and eventually won his second event of the season as his latest win was at Rally Italia Sardegna last June. At the end of CER, Neuville remains third overall on the championship standings and is behind Evans for seven points with one rally remaining until the season finale.
"I am really happy; it was a relief to make it to the finish!", Neuville said.
"It was a very challenging, tough weekend out there.
"Overall, we have done a very good job; we had good consistency and speed, which really paid off, and I was able to start enjoying the rally more towards the end – especially when the grip conditions got a bit more stable.
"Thank you to everyone – it was a real team effort this weekend, and we did it.
"We have been pushing hard since Sardinia for another win, and it didn’t happen despite many podiums.
"To win here in front of lots of Belgian fans and family is obviously great – a lot of joy in this moment.
"We can be proud of what we achieved and now we look forward to the last event of the year and focus on another victory".
Photo Credits: Hyundai
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