Thierry Neuville's hopes of wrapping up a maiden world title with a race to spare were dashed Saturday when an error-plagued drive at the Central European Rally ended up with the Belgian in a ditch.
Neuville, behind the wheel of a Hyundai, had led overnight but his lead was whittled down over the early stages in Germany and Austria where the asphalt surfaces were made tricky by rain.
Huge drama on stage 11 of the Central European Rally as our championship leader @thierryneuville spins not once, but twice in quick succession.
— Red Bull Motorsports (@redbullmotors) October 19, 2024
The Belgian lost over 30 seconds 😱 #WRC | #CER2024 🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/Yy5XvnKl4G
On the third stage of the day, his car spun which sent him into a concrete drainage ditch.
As he struggled to get back on the road, Neuville lost 40 seconds and fell into fourth place.
By the end of the day, Neuville was 39.8 seconds adrift of new leader, former world champion Sebastien Ogier in a Toyota.
Hyundai's Ott Tanak was in second at 5.2 seconds off the lead.
CHAMPIONSHIP IMPLICATIONS!
— D A N N Y (@Danny10_DotCom) October 19, 2024
Current overall rally leader & championship favorite Thierry Neuville went off-track twice, the second one here where he momentarily stuck on a ditch.#WRC #CER2024 pic.twitter.com/aJmmsvmqyf
Neuville needs to score two more points than Tanak this weekend to wrap up the title before the final round in Japan next month.
"Of course we are disappointed but the rally is not over and tomorrow will be an interesting day," said Neuville who hinted that he and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe misread the conditions, expecting dry and not wet roads.
"We paid the price for our mistake during the reconnaissance on our notes...it's disappointing but that's how it is."
Top five standings after Saturday's stages:
1. Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (FRA/Toyota) 2:10:12.7, 2. Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveola (EST/Hyundai) at 5.2sec, 3. Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (GBR/Toyota) at 14, 4. Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (BEL/Hyundai) at 39.8, 5. Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (JPN-IRL/Toyota) at 1:31.8
Stage winners: Sebastien Ogier (SS1, SS3, SS8, SS11, SS13, SS14), Ott Tänak (SS5, SS9, SS12), Thierry Neuville (SS2, SS7), Elfyn Evans (SS4, SS10), Takamoto Katsuta (SS6)