Neuville: Drivers' title now, manufacturers' crown next

For 12 years, the Belgian has been chasing rallying’s biggest prize and now, after his fourth-place finish at Rally Chile Bio Bío last week, he leads the drivers’ standings by 29 points with just two rounds remaining. Never before has the title been this close, and Neuville isn’t about to let it slip through his fingers.

Speaking after the South American event, Neuville – who has finished runner-up in the championship five times – was blunt in his ambitions. He wants the championship wrapped up at next month’s Central European Rally (17 – 20 October) to avoid the drama of a final-round showdown at FORUM8 Rally Japan.

There’s more at stake than just personal glory, too. Neuville’s urgency is partially fuelled by Hyundai’s battle with Toyota for the manufacturers’ crown. Currently, Hyundai leads by 17 points, though that cushion has been halved after Kalle Rovanperä and Elfyn Evans took a commanding 1-2 finish in Chile.

“I think we have done what we needed [in Chile],” Neuville told WRC.com, “and now we need to make sure that we can get things done quickly, because there is still a manufacturers’ championship to fight for and we need to be sure that, for Japan, we can fight as we should for the manufacturers’ title.

Neuville didn’t shy away from addressing the elephant in the room: his rivalry with team-mate Ott Tänak. The Estonian remains his closest challenger for the drivers' title, with Neuville suggesting that their internal battle may have already affected Hyundai’s campaign in the manufacturers' series.

“We lost 18 points [in Chile], so basically half of our advantage,” he said. “For sure, there’s a fight between myself and Ott which is ongoing, and nobody will take the biggest risks. But obviously that shows that we lost some important points to Toyota. They brought many cars [to Chile], and they will bring many cars to Central Europe as well.

Neuville called for a unified strategy heading into the penultimate round to ensure that the drivers' fight doesn’t derail Hyundai’s bid for both titles, saying: “It’s important not to have an internal fight and to get things done to be ready to beat the Toyotas in the manufacturers’ championship.

“We need to have a good approach and a good strategy as a team to make sure that we don’t lose the manufacturers’ championship. It’s a little bit [frustrating] for sure, but at the moment I can’t do more.”

How can Neuville clinch his first WRC title at Central European Rally?
With two rallies remaining, it’s truly Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe’s championship to lose. To secure the title at the penultimate round, the i20 N Rally1 HYBRID crew must:

• Score at least two points more than Tänak.
• Drop no more than 10 points to Sébastien Ogier.
• Drop no more than 16 points to Elfyn Evans – unless Evans wins the rally, in which case Neuville can only afford to drop 15 points to him.