Ypres (Belgium) (AFP)
Thierry Neuville spoke about his experience on the ground, at home, the Belgian finished first in the first of three days of the Ypres rally, eighth round of the WRC championship, on Friday evening.
On asphalt and steep roads, and after eight stages, the Hyundai driver is ahead of his Irish teammate Craig Breen by seven seconds.
This is the first time that Belgium has hosted an event on the WRC calendar, this rally taking the place of the German event, canceled due to the Covid.
The battle was good between two men who surrendered blow for blow on difficult ground.
A third Hyundai driver, Estonian Ott Tanak, completed the provisional podium 31 seconds behind Neuville.
The French Sébastien Ogier (Toyota), leader of the world championship, finished the day in sixth position, 39 seconds behind the leader, after suffering a puncture at the beginning of the afternoon, during the first special. .
"The furrows made by the tractors after the rains of the last few days make the grip very difficult," explains Breen.
"Punctures are the main pitfall of this rally where the turns are very tricky. It's a bit of a lottery. I was dreading it but we ended up losing little time," said Ogier.
The Frenchman was also penalized by the suspension settings that were a little too firm, which all Toyota drivers complained about.
Not much to disrupt the Gapençais who can ride without taking any unnecessary risk as his lead in the world championship is comfortable.
With a mattress of 148 points, Ogier is well ahead of Briton Elfyn Evans (111 points) and Neuville (96).
Ogier took his marks in the second part of the day.
After a hard first loop, the world champion then set times comparable to those of the leaders.
- Neuville to experience -
The Belgian has already competed in this rally eight times (two wins) and therefore started with a significant advantage over the competition.
With the exception of Breen, no other WRC driver has ever raced in the Belgian Westhoek, an area marked by the battle of the trenches during the world conflict of 14-18.
"I manage, explained Neuville. There is no reason to push more even if I could delay my braking a little more. I could attack more. But it is not necessary".
Breen feels him in his element, "I love this track, made of ropes (turns that cannot be cut Editor's note). I'm going to bore Thierry to the end," he sneered.
The rally will continue on Saturday with eight specials on the program (120 kilometers in total), still in the Ypres region (north-west) before a final day, Sunday, at Francorchamps, which will require the drivers to cross Belgium for a link nearly 300 kilometers!
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