Thierry Neuville a Japán Rally második péntek délutáni szakaszáig a második helyet foglalta el, akkor azonban hibázott és kiesett. Az…
Thierry Neuville, a Belgian rally driver, held the second position in the Japan Rally until the second stage on Friday afternoon, but then made a mistake and crashed out. After the incident, Cyril Abiteboul criticized his driver, and then Neuville apologized to the team. Neuville won the Japan Rally last year and was also fighting for victory this year in the heavy rain, until he made a mistake and crashed out on the second stage on Friday afternoon. Afterward, Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul criticized the Belgian driver. „Thierry was too optimistic on that stage,” said Abiteboul. „It was similar to what happened in Greece. I feel like he approached this race with a win-or-crash mentality. We want to win too, but we shouldn’t take too big of a risk. During the Friday midday service, we discussed that he should try to get closer to Elfyn Evans without overdoing it. However, he still crossed the line.” Neuville eventually returned on Saturday and comforted his team and himself with a Power Stage victory. „I’m glad the race is over,” said Thierry Neuville. „Overall, I enjoyed the weekend, and I think if I hadn’t made that mistake, I could have fought for the victory. I’m sorry for the error and apologize to the team. I trust that next year we will perform better. This year, we had some unlucky races that took us out of the championship battle. After that, I only aimed for victories, which sometimes worked out and sometimes didn’t.”
