Thierry Neuville was surprisingly second in the World Rally Championship in Jyväskylä. He was full of praise for Esapekka Lap and Teemu Suninen, but included a thorn for his old teammates.
JYVÄSKYLÄ.
The biggest surprise of the World Rally Championship in Jyväskylä was, without a doubt, Hyundai Thierry Neuville. The Belgian star returned to the podium after ten years. Neuville has been one of the biggest stars of the series for a decade, but in Finland he has remained far from the top for one reason or another.
However, now Neuville was second to the biggest winning candidates Kalle Rovanperä, Ott Tänak and Esapekka Lappi had to interrupt.
Neuville was now second in both Estonia and Finland on fast gravel roads. Neuville had stated before Estonia that neither race is his favorite.
After the race, he still agreed.
– When we have a good feeling in the car, I know I can drive fast. However, I have to be able to trust the car. Here even more than anywhere else. Now the car gave me the confidence to push harder, Neuville described.
Esapekka Lappi told before the weekend how Neuville has been driving with his settings for a long time this season. Lappi was also Hyundai’s first tester before the World Rally Championship in Jyväskylä.
How much did the winner of the 2017 Jyväskylä World Rally Championship help Neuville to the top result?
– As I have said many times, we have developed the car in the same direction in the tests. It’s the same thing actually Teemun (Sunny) with. We are all pretty much on the same settings. We get similar sensations from the car. The situation was not like this before. It was developed in two different directions, and neither was good, Neuville quipped.
Lappi came to Hyundai this season after Tänak moved to M-Sport’s Ford. Suninen, on the other hand, drove his second race in Hyundai’s number one team this season.
So you must be happy about two Finnish teammates?
– At least in these rallies. We’ll see how it is in the other rallies, Neuville laughed before getting serious.
– Esapeka’s suspension was a shame. However, he has been really good this year. Teemu was really good here. He surprised me.
Suninen was fourth and the best Finn in the competition. He says that he is already testing on the asphalt on Tuesday, but did not tell about the upcoming rally. A very logical destination would be the World Rally Championship in Chile at the end of the year.
Neither does Hyundai’s team manager Cyril Abiteboul did not confirm driving in the World Rally Championship in Chile, but admitted that there will be at least one or two more World Rally Championships for Suni this year.
Urheilu reported in mid-June that Suninen would continue for the next year and a half at Hyundai. On the eve of the World Rally Championship in Jyväskylä, the manager Timo Jouhki stated to Ilta-Sanom, that the contract would have been concluded. During the World Rally Championship in Jyväskylä, team manager Abiteboul has not agreed to confirm the news, and did not do so after the race either.
The World Rally Championship will now go on a one-month break. Traditionally, we are now living in a time when rumors about next season’s departures start to circulate. During the World Rally Championship in Jyväskylä, the German Motorsport Aktuell speculated that the multiple world champion, who currently works as a concert driver for Toyota Sébastien Ogier would move to the wheel of Hyundai. During the summer, there has also been hot speculation about Kalle Rovanperä.
The reigning world champion’s current contract with Toyota expires this season.
– The driver market is a little warm. We look forward to seeing what happens. Ogier, Rovanperä and Tänak are drivers whose decisions are awaited before we know what kind of package is available to us, Suninen said.
Suninen was now in the Jyväskylä World Rally Championship after a four-year break in the main class. Difficult years are behind M-Sport’s Ford, but also a steady rise to the World Series through Hyundai’s second team.
– It’s great to be back in the main class. These are great devices. I like my work environment. Things are done as they should be. The goal is victory. We work for it and give it every opportunity. It’s a great feeling, Suninen summed up.