WRC – Championship leader Thierry Neuville lies 28.8-seconds behind his title rival Ott Tanak after nine of 23 stages

Hyundai Motorsport faces an uphill battle for victory honours in Wales Rally GB after a tricky start to the 11^th round of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).

Current drivers’ championship leader Thierry Neuville got off to a slow start compared to his title rivals Ott Tanak and Sébastien Ogier on Friday. The Belgian picked up the pace to finish the day in second overall but with a significant 28.8-second deficit to leader Tanak after nine of the event’s 23 stages.

Hayden Paddon and Andreas Mikkelsen have also struggled for pace on Friday, ending the day down in seventh and ninth overall respectively. Both drivers reported progress this afternoon.

Following the rally-opening super special at Tir Prince on Thursday, the first full day of action included a trio of repeated stages, Clocaenog (7.67km), Brenig (29.13km) and Penmachno (16.95km). Separating the morning and afternoon loops were two timed runs through the short but treacherous Slate Mountain test.

The weather has delivered conditions typical of Wales Rally GB with damp, slippery and muddy roads with occasional fog at higher altitude. Neuville took a stage win at his first attempt through the 1.63km Slate Mountain before all three Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team crews made important set-up changes at lunchtime service. The Belgian finished the day’s action strongly with a more spirited afternoon loop and a second stage win of the weekend in the repeat run through Penmachno.

One of the toughest individual days on the 2018 WRC calendar waits on Saturday with 150km of special stages and no luxury of a lunchtime service.

Crew Notes: Neuville/Gilsoul (#5 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

• Stage wins in SS5 (Slate Mountain 1) and SS9 (Penmachno)
• Finished Friday second overall but almost thirty seconds from Tanak

Neuville said: “We have made good progress throughout the day. This morning’s opening loop was really tricky, and it wasn’t easy as first on the road. I think that was a bit of a disadvantage to be honest. We had no lines to follow and we also struggled with the car. Things got better in the afternoon, both in terms of the handling from the car and the stage conditions, which felt much improved. I don’t think I could have given it any more today. Ott has a big lead but we have a very long, demanding day ahead of us all on Saturday, and I am certainly going to keep giving it all I can.”

Crew Notes: Paddon/ Marshall (#6 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

• Seventh overall after a trouble-free Friday
• Home rally for Brit co-driver Seb Marshall as crew aims to build on Turkish podium

Paddon said: “We have tried to have a clean day today. In the morning loop, I felt comfortable in the car but we were lacking some grip and traction in the conditions. We had an off-stage excursion in the second stage that cost us some time. We kept focused on our plan with road order playing quite a key role in the afternoon loop. We will have a more beneficial starting position on Saturday and will look to make some gains during the day.”

Crew Notes: Mikkelsen/Jæger (#4 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

• Tough day for the Norwegian crew as they struggled for consistency    
• Improvements made in the afternoon loop

Mikkelsen said: “Not a day to remember for us. We were not on the pace this morning and struggled to get a consistent feeling from the car. We investigated with the engineers over lunchtime service and made some changes, which helped get the feeling back in the afternoon loop. Unfortunately we still didn’t have the pace to go really fast but tomorrow is another day. We’ll push on.”

Slippery when wet

Team Principal Michel Nandan commented: “We have seen some very typical Wales Rally GB conditions today with a mixture of inclement weather and road conditions. All three of our crews have made it through the first full day without real incidents, so we can build from here for the rest of the weekend. This is a particularly punishing schedule with no lunchtime service on Saturday and five stages on Sunday, so there’s lots of opportunity to make up or lose ground. Thierry has done well to end Friday in second overall, but there’s too much of a gap to the leader for us to be satisfied today.” 

Saturday at a glance

• A punishing Saturday itinerary will see crews tackle 150km of special stages with only a remote tyre fitting zone to split two loops
• The morning will consist of well-known Welsh tests Myherin (20.28km), Sweet Lamb Hafren (19.95km), Dyfi (19.48km), Gartheiniog (11.26km) and Dyfnant (8.30km).
• No lunchtime service means crews will need to remain cautious as they face the first four stages from that loop again in the afternoon.

Classification after Day One  

Press release Hyundai Motorsport