Sunday heartbreak strikes Neuville again
It is absolutely brutal how quickly a rally can unravel. Thierry Neuville, the Hyundai driver who looked set to push Sébastien Ogier to the very limit, saw his dreams of a win evaporate on the Aghii Theodori stage. After trading identical times on SS15, the machines were perfectly matched—until they weren't.
On SS16, the situation turned into a disaster for Neuville and his co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe. Suffering damage to both rear tyres with 10km left to run, the duo dropped nearly one minute to Ogier. The gap now stands at 54.8sec heading into the Wolf Power Stage, effectively ending the fight for the lead.
Neuville was understandably crushed by the sudden turn of events, noting that he initially received a low-pressure alarm on the left before the right rear let go. "It would have been nice to fight until the end against Sébastien, but that's it," he said. It is a tough pill to swallow for the Hyundai squad, especially when they clearly had the pace to win.
