NEUVILLE’S NEVER-GIVE-UP ATTITUDE DELIVERS PODIUM

No matter what was thrown at

Thierry Neuville, the Hyundai driver “never gave up” on a podium despite a host of penalties, misfortune and a wild final-stage crash.

The Belgian incurred two minutes of penalties across an eventful three days. He was also handed a €1900 fine for speeding on a road section, alongside engine, alternator and hybrid issues. Somehow he held on to a deserved third-place finish.

“Despite the issues, we never gave up,” said Neuville, who sits second in the points. “We fought hard and at the end the team has been rewarded with a 2-3 result, and strong points for the manufacturers’ championship. We have improved our pace, the car is much nicer to drive.”

Such was his determination that he even remained confident of a podium finish despite almost flipping his i20 N on the final stage after running wide into a ditch, which triggered two punctures and a loss of his intercom to co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe.

“To be honest, no,” he added when asked if he thought he had thrown away the podium. “I didn’t know where the car had gone. I knew there was the ditch and I tried to save the car, but you know how it goes. It looked very spectacular, but from the inside it wasn’t that spectacular and I got away with only two punctures. Luckily only two because if not it would have been difficult to reach the service. It has been a challenging, emotional, up and down weekend.”