It’s a tough watch, but a necessary one. Just what went wrong to cause Thierry Neuville to squander a one minute lead on the final stage of Croatia Rally?
We know the outcome. The 2024 world champion gets it wrong through a right-hander, opens the steering after spotting an escape road but instead finds a concrete block that breaks the front-right suspension.
But what was the process? What input led to Neuville, and Hyundai’s despair, and how tricky was the corner in question?
Initially, once he reached the stage-end, Neuville didn’t know what had happened. After apologizing to the team, he admitted “I have no explanation at the moment” but confessed he was “afraid to slide” after picking up some understeer, hence he opened the steering thinking that was the safest option.
His official explanation, printed in Hyundai’s post-event press release and shared on Neuville’s social media accounts, then went as follows: “Unfortunately, we were surprised on that corner. I probably turned in a bit too early, and my first reaction was to open, and then the incident happened.”
The corner was clearly one of the trickiest on the Alan – Senj powerstage. Appearing on SPIN, The Rally Pod, Grégoire Munster – who drove the stage as route note crew – said: “For me, that was the only corner that was really tricky on this stage. I saw some lines as well from cars that went off on the first pass.
“So basically, to my crew, I told them to be aware of that specific corner and that was the one where they should be careful. Now you know it’s easier than said because you never know what speed exactly you need to take into that corner. I don’t know exactly what was the warning they got from their route note crew.”
There was significant evolution from the first to the second pass, too. Not only did the inside of the corner become far more gravelly, but a road sign on the outside was removed by an accident for a later runner.
That’s what Neuville essentially hit, as the concrete base of the felled sign did the damage to his Hyundai. Had the sign not fallen, would Neuville have escaped and won the rally, with the junction – impersonating a forest firebreak – looking less like a safety net?
Maybe he could’ve pitched the car into a slide instead, but that would have run the risk of damaging the rear-left and he’d have been no better off.
Ultimately the mistake was made on entry to the corner. From the second he makes a small lapse in judgement, his fate is more or less sealed.
Neuville was a bit too fast into the corner, understeered, and the rest was history
“It was a right that tightens,” Munster added. “The surface was already quite dusty from the start because you have some road work and so on nearby. And then obviously they take the cut, which throws some dirt on the road as well. And yeah, I think he carries a tiny bit too much speed.
“And then as soon as he had understeer, he tries to go in the escape route as you said, and basically that concrete is actually from a triangle sign that was there before and someone hit it. So you only had the concrete support or base layer left, and I think in that aspect he is a bit unlucky to hit it exactly at that spot, but it caused enough damage to make it game over for them.”
It’s clear from analyzing the available onboards that the most efficient way through the bend is knocking significant speed off before the entry, and then being patient through the apex before picking up the throttle on the exit.
But it is a deceptive corner that requires a precise line. Neuville’s team-mate Adrien Fourmaux lives life on the edge as he combats oversteer through the turn when he picks up the throttle – passing the apex at 83kph. Pacesetter Solberg deals with some understeer while Elfyn Evans is cautious and smooth – but both Toyotas have an entry speed of 86kph. Takamoto Katsuta was as slow as 79kph. Neuville, however, was travelling at around 94kph when he turned in.
From there he was up against it, with the Hyundai destined to drift off the optimum line.
Instinct then takes over. The concrete block is in Neuville’s eyeline, so sensing that could mean trouble – and knowing he has a lead north of one minute – he opens the steering and jinxs the car to the left, spotting an escape road he can hopefully go down and then reverse back out.
But the front-right of the car smacks the concrete and there’s no going back. Immediately after the hit, Neuville lets out an expletive before he’s thrust himself into an Austin Powers situation, trying to turn the car in a narrow space. Another French expletive leaves his mouth.
Twenty-eight seconds after leaving the stage, Neuville is back on it. Had the car not been damaged, that time loss would not have cost him victory. But in turning the car sharply left to rejoin the stage, it’s immediately clear all is not well.
“Aw nooo,” can be heard down the intercom, before a different French expletive. Reality has set in. Neuville continues but a spin while turning to the right proves the car is horrific to drive. The win is gone.
Looking back at the first pass, Neuville got things spot on – but gravel on the road for the second pass significantly reduced the speed of the bend. Neuville used the same throttle technique and was 17kph slower through the corner on SS20 than SS18, while Solberg for example was 30kph slower.
Fine margins indeed, but that is the difference between success and failure.
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