Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) (AFP)

The Huyndai team, led by its leader, the Belgian Thierry Neuville, won the Ypres rally on Sunday, the 8th round of the WRC season contested in Belgium, without ever having been endangered by its great rival Toyota.

Something to give suspense to the drivers' championship, even if it remains dominated by the French Sébastien Ogier, fifth Sunday, who now has 162 points to 124 in Neuville and the Briton Elfyn Evans (Hyundai).

Among manufacturers, Toyota sees its lead shrink to 31 points with four events remaining.

Throughout the three days of competition (two around Ypres, one in Spa), Neuville has never been worried, even if his Irish teammate Craig Breen finished in his heels, 2nd at 30 seconds.

To avoid any unnecessary risk-taking and the gap with the Toyotas deemed sufficient (more than 40 seconds), the positions were frozen at noon on Saturday by the bosses of the South Korean team.

"These are not instructions but a strong recommendation for caution," explained manager Andrea Adamo, since the instructions are prohibited by the regulations.

Neuville, author of seven scratch times in total (out of 20 specials), was able to savor his victory at home for what constituted a first WRC event contested in the flat country.

"The pressure was really strong because we were expected as the big favorites," he admitted.

This is his 14th WRC victory and his first for seventeen months after Monte-Carlo in 2020.

"It's great to win this first world rally on Belgian soil. It will be a milestone in my record. The supporters were numerous and extraordinary", declared the driver to whom his legendary compatriot, Jacky Ickx, presented the cup of winner.

- Rovanperä confirms, Ogier dies -

To find suspense, we had to focus on the battle for third place between the three Toyota's of Elfyn Evans, Kalle Rovanperä and Sébastien Ogier.

On ultra-fast roads, where the cars regularly approach 190 km / h on narrow and often slippery sections, the risk of punctures was legion.

Ogier paid the price on two occasions (Friday and Sunday).

"We knew that punctures would be the main pitfall of this rally. Especially given the fragility of the tires. It happened at my expense. But hey, we come out of this rally with a few points, that's the most important", said the Gapençais, also penalized at the start of the rally by his position as an opener on dusty asphalt.

All for the benefit of the Finnish Rovanperä, third and first Toyota driver, who confirms that his success last month in Estonia owed nothing to chance.

At 20, he had then become the youngest winner of a WRC round.

"Today (Sunday) I am proving that I can perform well on asphalt. I really enjoyed the course. It's very encouraging for the rest of my career," he said.

"I am told that there is little chance that the rally will return to the calendar next year. It is a shame because the atmosphere was really exceptional and the track is very interesting," said Craig Breen for his part. .

© 2021 AFP