Page 20 - Motorsport News (January 2020)
P. 20
20 JANUARY 29 2020 motorsport-news.co.uk
RALLY MONTE CARL EVANS
DAVID
NEUVILLE PUTS TH
FAVOURITES IN THE
Hyundai man might not have grabbed the pre-season headlines, but he shone
Hyundai man got
revenge for 2019
llwinter Thierry Lastweekwasthe perfecttonicfor stagesthatsatbetween DigneandGap. Oneof the finest single stage allbewon back on thevery nextstage. down o
Neuvillehad those troubledby awinterof relative The openingstage mighthave been performances inthe modernhistory Itwould beharsh to talkof Neuville Ogier w
waited. And discontent fortheWRC. The 2019 new to everybody, butit wasdry. The of the WRC, he’d whopped the world’s goingfromherotoanythinglike zero, edging
waited. Since season finished aroundearlycourtesy secondtest,the event’s longestat 16 besttothetune of 25.5 seconds. but dropping20sonFriday’sopener– “Idid
Rally Spain of the New SouthWalesbushfires, miles, wasthewell-troddenroutefrom Whenthecars reached serviceinGap hiscausenot helpedby abigicyslide thismo
last October, Chile’s 2020roundwaslost to political Bayonsto Breziers.Familiarity inthis closetomidnight,Evanssmiledthinly, andstall– wasfarfromideal.It proved section
Athe Belgian had unrestand,of course, Citroenwalked areais famousforbreedingcontempt then blewhis cheeksout. “Fair play,” thepointandopened a door. cansee
been forcedintotheshadowsby an away.But lastweek’sMonte Carlo andSS2wasthathorriblemixof snow, hesaid.“That’s some time…” Evanswas fastestthroughit.Despite thenyo
incoming World Rallychampion. Rallyofferedthe bestpossiblestart iceandasphalt. After theon-camerapleasantries multi-seasonal conditionsathispre- improv
So profoundhas been thechatter to a new decadeintheWRC. Sebastiens OgierandLoeb, Neuville about there beingalongwaytogo, eventtest,Evans had foundaset-up he faster.
about Ott Tanak joining Hyundai, Aweekout from theannualtripto andTanakallwent foramix of soft Neuville turnedtoMotorsportNews washappywithon his firstWRCouting atmidd
it felt likethe manwho made the south of France andthe roads andsupersoftracertyres.Evansand anddidhisbesttostifle the grin. intheYarisand hedominatedthe betteri
Hyundaihisownhad been lost. threadingthe peaksinland from the M-Sport followedsuit andthen lobbed He’drolledthe dice, takenapunt morning withfastest timeon allthree “He’s
OntheharboursideinMonaco last Principality wereprettymuch bone acouple of studdedwinters intheboot andgotawaywithit.Morethanthat, tests.Predictably,thenewleaderwasn’t today,”
Sundayafternoonhewas, most dry.Itwaslookinglike aroadrace. forstagetwo. he’dhad anawfullotof fun. lettingit gotohisheadatlunchtime. tokeep
definitely,found. Then,on the Fridaybeforethe recce, Spyingan opportunityto laydowna “It just feltright,”he said.“Iwas able “It’s notbad,” wasaseffusiveas crazy.L
Neuville’smaiden MonteCarlo the dayof Elfyn Evans’ pre-event test markerandmakeapoint,newToyota toread very wellthe road andthegrip hewaswillingtoget. Satur
Rally wincouldn’t havecontrasted north of Gap, thingsstartedtochange. recruitOgier hurled his YarisWRC andIused that tooptimisethebraking. Ogier,forhispart,wasrattled.It’d freshs
more comprehensively withTanak’s In thewordsof theWelshman,“it throughtheopener 1.8sfaster than Whenyougetawaywithacoupleof beenalongtimesinceateam-matehad stuff to
result. Bythetime Thierry cracked pissed down”. And whenday turned hisnearestrival Tanak,withEvans cornerstheconfidencecancome,but thebetterof himin his own backyard. Neuv
the champagne open,the Estonian to night,it snowed.Andwhenit justa tenthfurtherback. Consistency then suddenly…bang, it cangoso Interviews weredispatchedwith againi
was homereflecting on the biggest snowed,it delivered that vital workedforthoseinnewcolours.But easily as well. You needtokeepyour brevityand a smilethe six-timechamp of thes
andfastest crashof his life. ingredientforaclassic Monte: whatabout thenext one? confidence,but nevertrytotake too hasperfectedtoconveythe message luncht
Oncemore, theWorld Rally thecurveball of unpredictability. Neuvilletookaimata6.4s stage-one muchrisk. It’ssurethisonecanbite thatthiswould beagoodtime forthe throug
Championship held itsbreath when Nottomention opportunity. deficitand blewit outof the water muchmorequickly.This iswhythe interviewerto moveon.If Evansruled anothe
the #8Hyundai speared off the road Thursdaynight provided an witha SS2 drivethat wassimply Monte’s notanormalTarmacrally. themorning,Ogier hadtheafternoon, Ogierg
at highspeed on Friday’s second stage. immediateconundrum.Standing breathtaking.He torethroughthe You know whatit’slike, we’reallon ortwo-thirds of it.BothToyotas were butNe
The terrifyingaccident, which lasted in thesunshinewaitingforthecars dry sections, then tippy-toedanced thesametenth[of asecond].” forced togivebesttoNeuvilleon the “Iwa
an agonising14 secondsand ended with to crossthe start rampalongside the i20 across theice,heartinmouth, Nowwasthetimeto test all thosepre- final stage of theworkingweek. Thursd
a30-metredrop off acliff, destroyed Formula 1’s mostfamousstart-finish everythingonthelimit.Back tothedry eventtheories thatthere’s noneedto The third-placedHyundaidriver “Andt
the i20 –butmercifullyandquite straight,Boulevard Albert1st was andit washammerdownhome.The panicwhen you loseachunk of time. admitted he wasdisappointedwith He’sbeenmor
brilliantlykept the crew safe. a world away fromthefirst two result? Asimplymind-bogglingtime. It can, weweretold timeand again, hisday,but heremained just6.4s
