Thierry Neuville stormed to his second FIA World Rally Championship victory of the season with a commanding victory at RallyRACC – Rally de España on Sunday afternoon.
The Belgian took control of the penultimate round with eight straight fastest times in his Hyundai i20 across the middle of the three-day asphalt rally to secure back-to-back Spain victories by 24.1s.
Second place for Elfyn Evans in a Toyota Yaris means the fight for the drivers’ title goes to a final round decider in Italy next month. He headed Dani Sordo’s i20 by 11.2s and trails team-mate Sébastien Ogier by 17 points. A maximum 30 remain available.
After demoting Evans from the lead on Saturday morning, Neuville’s progress at the front was serene until a big scare ahead of the closing Wolf Power Stage.
A starter motor problem meant co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe pushed their i20 into the regroup before the stage. The crew managed to restart the car and tackled the test without further problems, but the incident clearly rattled Neuville.
“I’m relieved to be at the end,” he admitted. “It was a tough weekend but we fought very hard. We had a good clean run and until near the end everything was perfect.
“Unfortunately, lots of stress before the last stage. I am really disappointed about that because otherwise the weekend would have been perfect and nice, but now it isn’t.”
Evans felt uncomfortable on dirty roads when the smooth asphalt speed tests in the Costa Daurada hills were tackled for a second time, but the Welshman has slashed the deficit to Ogier from 44 points with victory in Finland earlier this month and second here.
He tried a variety of set-up changes to no avail but had enough pace to stay ahead of a charging Sordo, who won all four of Sunday’s special stages to demote Ogier and claim the final podium place.
Ogier, pursuing his eighth title in nine seasons, struggled for pace in the first half of the rally. While set-up changes gave the Frenchman fresh heart, he could not hold off the Spaniard.
Kalle Rovanperä finished fifth in another Yaris, almost 50s adrift of Ogier, with Gus Greensmith overcoming several problems to complete the top six in a Ford Fiesta at the final rally for co-driver Chris Patterson.
Oliver Solberg celebrated his first WRC asphalt drive in an i20 World Rally Car with seventh, equalling his career-best result. Top-tier debutant Nil Solans was eighth in another i20, with WRC2 winner Eric Camilli and Nikolay Gryazin completing the leaderboard.
The title-deciding final round at FORUM8 ACI Rally Monza will take place on 18 – 21 November.
Neuville and Sordo’s 1-2 in the bonus points-paying Power Stage means the fight between leader Toyota Gazoo Racing and Hyundai Motorsport for the manufacturers’ crown will also go to the last round.
| # | Driver | Co-Driver | Car | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | T. NEUVILLE | M. WYDAEGHE | Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC | 2:34:11.8 |
| 2 | E. EVANS | S. MARTIN | Toyota Yaris WRC | +24.1 |
| 3 | D. SORDO | C. CARRERA | Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC | +11.2 |
| 4 | S. OGIER | J. INGRASSIA | Toyota Yaris WRC | +6.8 |
| 5 | K. ROVANPERÄ | J. HALTTUNEN | Toyota Yaris WRC | +49.7 |
| 6 | G. GREENSMITH | C. PATTERSON | Ford Fiesta WRC | +2:45.5 |
| 7 | O. SOLBERG | C. DREW | Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC | +9.4 |
| 8 | N. SOLANS | M. MARTI | Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC | +8.2 |
| 9 | E. CAMILLI | M. VILMOT | Citroen C3 | +5:14.5 |
| 10 | N. GRYAZIN | K. ALEKSANDROV | Skoda Fabia EVO | +16.5 |
