Thierry Neuville received unauthorized information about the special stages of the Safari rally. The Belgian driver’s fraud puts Hyundai, which is struggling with problems in the World Rally Championship, in a bad light.
Hyundai driver by Thierry Neuville was caught cheating in the World Rally of Kenya and his performance was rejected at the end of the rally. A person belonging to Neuville’s background group had been getting to know the special tests without permission after the so-called familiarization period. The Belgian driver is Kalle Rovanperän one of the worst competitors in the World Rally Championship.
– The drivers get to get to know the route twice, and in addition, the notation team drives through the section. When the notation period ends, no one is allowed to drive the rally roads with a car. The team staff can go to the side of the road to walk and take photos, there is nothing forbidden, working as Urheilu’s rally expert Henri Haapamäki clarify.
In Neuville’s case, the question is whether a team member has driven the road with a car. So far, there is no confirmed information that a Hyundai staff member drove the route in a car.
– However, apparently it is, because the rejection has come. There is no fine for just watching.
The rules are the same in all gravel rallies. Asphalt rallies, on the other hand, have a group of front cars that check the notes. Sheet music may not be checked in gravel rallies.
In Neuville’s case, it is apparently a matter of checking the locations of slow stones that have moved after the notation period.
The Safari rally is known for its unclear routes. If the driver has fraudulently obtained advance information about the changed retarders, he can drive the relevant points harder than his competitors.
– Yes, gentlemen’s rules prohibit all such activities. All drivers have a clear opinion on the matter, as it is a shocking benefit that can be obtained from it.
A blow to the reputation of Neuville and Hyundai
The events after the checkered flag of the Safari rally put Hyundai in a bad light.
– If we think about how many technical problems there are, for example Esapekka in Lapland has had and Hyundai has had difficulties in the World Rally Championship anyway, so it doesn’t give a very good picture after something like this.
It will be interesting to see if Neuville will take the incident to heart or if the team will take responsibility for what happened.
– Yes, it’s really sarcastic if you get angry about things like this. I have to wonder if it has ever been used somewhere else, Haapamäki thinks.
Neuville, who finished eighth in the final results of the Safari Rally and won the Power Stage, will lose the World Championship points he received from the competition.
After the rejection, Neuville fell to fifth place in the World Championship. Kalle Rovanperä leads the series with 140 points and the lead grew even more with the rejection of the Belgian striker. Elfyn Evans is second with 99 points. Neuville has 93 points.