It would be too easy and quite dangerous to say that the crowns are already on the heads of Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe. With a 25-point lead, the Belgian crew will only need 6 units in Japan to finish, regardless of the result of their teammates. With the new scale used since January, a 6e place on Saturday evening would bring the minimum score claimed. Neuville would then just have to get on the final podium (regardless of rank) to validate this nest egg and be crowned. On paper, this does not appear insurmountable. This year, only in Latvia did Thierry score such a modest total, so the chances of him not achieving it are limited…but they exist.
Ott Tänak knows this perfectly, but he prefers to evacuate the subject when it arises. At the end of the Central European rally, he assured that he was no longer thinking about the title and that in Japan everything would depend on the behavior of his teammate. “ If he doesn’t make a mistake, nothing will happen “, he asserted correctly. Furthermore, the Estonian also planned to defend Hyundai’s chances in the Manufacturers’ race. While it is certain that the 2019 winner will monitor the position of his stablemate (just in case…), he will probably not try everything to win a 2e star. However, it could return to him even if he does not aim for it. It would be enough for one reason or another for Neuville not to score these famous 6 little points and for Ott to win for the fate of the 2024 championship to swing to the Baltic side.
The WRC being a motor sport, the Hyundai i20 Rally1 No. 11 is not immune to damage. Nobody wishes him, but such turnarounds have already occurred in the history of this discipline and it is not Carlos Sainz who will say the opposite. 4e du Rac 1998 and glimpsing its 3e coronation, the Spaniard had retired 500 m from the last SS of the season with an engine problem, leaving Tommi Mäkinen to celebrate… The Korean has been reliable all year long. There is no reason for it to falter next week and the Hyundai team will do everything to prevent that from happening, but the possibility remains.
The other disaster scenario which could deprive the Belgian duo of this well-deserved reward would be an error on the part of the crew. During his career, Neuville has already experienced this type of disillusionment with balls when victories were in sight. This season, despite the handicap of having to constantly open the road, it has shown exemplary reliability and its solidity has been praised many times. There is no reason for him to take more risks in Japan and the chances of making a mistake are not greater than elsewhere… but they exist.
Leaders of the championship since the first round, the Belgian tandem is preparing to face the 21 special stages and the longest 303 km of their career, but the reward at the end is worth it.
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