Neuville Heads Hyundai's Sardinian 1-2
Hyundai's Thierry Neuville headed i20 N partner Esapekka Lappi by 33.0sec in a 1-2 finish for at round six of 13, scoring his 18th career success alongside co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe. The result was a maiden 2023 triumph for both Neuville and Hyundai, helping the Korean marque to move within 23 points of championship-leading manufacturer Toyota Gazoo Racing. But the lead changed hands nine times during the fast and furious Mediterranean fixture until Neuville seized the initiative when GR Yaris rival Sébastien Ogier went off the road in Saturday's rain-hit penultimate test. Lappi celebrated his third-consecutive top-three finish, in the same stage and managed a comfortable advantage through Sunday?s four-stage finale.
Neuville said: "It's the first victory for the team this year, it's a 1-2, and the first win for our team principal [Cyril Abiteboul] as well. Craig Breen is in our memories also - we wanted the win in Croatia for him, but we got it now."
Rovanperä completed the podium in third overall, his best result out of five Rally Italia Sardegna attempts. Although he trailed fellow Finn Lappi by 1min 22.3sec at the finish, the high rate of attrition saw him end a sizeable 3min 25.2sec clear of fourth-placed Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans, who'd struggled to get into a rhythm in his GR Yaris and dropped around three minutes on Saturday when the car's radiator sustained damage in a water crossing. Dani Sordo almost made it three Hyundais' in the top five but retired after the day's second stage due to exhaust failure. It brought an early end to what been a turbulent weekend for the Spaniard, having previously rolled his i20 N on Friday morning.
Sordo's demise paved the way for Andreas Mikkelsen to claim fifth overall as well as taking a surprise victory in WRC2. He had trailed Adrien Fourmaux by more than half a minute before the Wolf Power Stage but the Frenchman slid off the road 1.4km after the start.
The WRC season enters its second half with an eagerly anticipated return to Africa later this month for the legendary Safari Rally Kenya is based in Naivasha 22 - 25 June.
Drivers Championship after 6 rounds of 13
1. K. ROVANPERÄ 118
2. T. NEUVILLE 93
3. O. TÄNAK 85
4. E. EVANS 83
5. S. OGIER 70
6. E. LAPPI 67
7. D. SORDO 36
8. T. KATSUTA 23
9. C. BREEN 19
10. G. GREENSMITH 16
Manufacturer's Championship
1. Toyota Gazoo Racing 235
2. Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 212
3. M-Sport WRT 148
6th June, 2023