No need to call the ‘A-Team’ to the rescue, but with a simple tactic: small steps, caution. Starting 7th, just behind Sébastien Ogier’s Yaris GR Rally 1, Thierry Neuville kept up with the Frenchman until 10 kilometres from the finish before gradually taking his foot off the gas in the trickiest section. In the end, he set the 3rd fastest time of the special, 5.5 seconds behind Ogier and 6 seconds behind his team-mate Ott Tänak, who started at a high pace before going off on two wheels in a hairpin three-quarters of the way through the special. The same corner that Elfique ‘La Poisse’ Evans rolled over a few minutes earlier.
“Stick to the plan and take advantage of every opportunity that came our way, that’s really all we could do, explained Thierry Neuville at the end of the afternoon. “Finding ourselves first since Saturday lunchtime was of course one of those opportunities to exploit to the full… Let’s hope that we can maintain this advantage at the end of this very demanding rally. We’ll need a little more luck for everything to go well.”
And for good reason: if he passes the final podium this Sunday, our compatriot is assured of pocketing the 18 points of the first place after two days of racing. And since his teammate Dani Sordo managed to get between Ogier and him, ‘TN’ collects 5 more than the Frenchman.
After a third special stage victory on the famous Eko Super Special to Neuville and a 140 km liaison to Lamia, the equation is obvious. The Super Sunday in Greece which will start after a 45-minute morning service will be the only opportunity for Sébastien Ogier and Ott Tänak to take back points from the world championship leader. But knowing the skills of our compatriots in this Sunday exercise, the Saint-Vithois could still surprise more than one. Even if, more than ever, he will be obliged to finish the race.
The complete results
