Thierry Neuville will complete Friday afternoon’s stages of Rally Japan at reduced pace with a power problem still affecting his Hyundai i20 N Rally1.
Neuville started the final round of this year’s World Rally Championship with a 25-point lead over Hyundai team-mate Ott Tänak, and after three stages was lying second – a position more than good enough to earn him his first world title.
But halfway through SS4, the final stage of Friday morning, Neuville’s i20 N Rally1 began to lose power, and he shipped 40s to his rivals, dropping to third.
Without a midday service break, the chances of Neuville’s car being cured looked slim at the remote tire fitting zone.
Neuville told DirtFish he reckoned the problem was electrical rather than mechanical, but DirtFish witnessed the Hyundai mechanics revving the engine high – and Neuville was spotted with a resigned look on his face.
DirtFish sources suggest it is a wastegate issue.
On the road section prior to the afternoon’s first stage, Neuville confirmed the problem had not been resolved.
“No unfortunately not,” he said. “It is what it is.
“Obviously not what we were looking for. Now the hard work throughout the year gets even more valuable with that 25-point lead in a situation like this.”
Tänak has been given a five-minute gap to Neuville for the afternoon stages. Normally, Rally1 cars start stages three minutes apart.
Additional reporting by David Evans.
