Thierry Neuville and his team Hyundai Motorsport claimed first victory of the 2017 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) season at the Che Guevara Energy Drink Tour De Corse on Sunday, April 9. The Belgian finished in front of the four time and reigning world champion, Sebastien Ogier with Hyundai teammate Dani Sordo in third place.
Also read: What do initial rounds of Formula 1, MotoGP and WRC hint at for rest of the season?
Neuville became fourth different driver to win in the opening four rounds of the current season, each representing a different manufacturer. The last season in which four different teams won consecutive events was 1987.
Neuville crossed finishing line in his Hyundai i20 car 54.7 seconds ahead of Ogier. Neuville took lead on Saturday when Kris Meeke of Citroen retired from the lead with engine problems and eased through Sunday's final stages.
"The feeling is amazing," Neuville said. "Special thanks to the team, they have always believed in me and kept pushing me after Monte-Carlo and Sweden. I struggled a bit in the opening day and I wasn't sure we could win this event, but we came back and turned it around."
Sébastien Ogier extended his championship lead to 13 points finishing second in the fourth round. Electrical problems slowed the Frenchman's Ford Fiesta during the early stages of the rally.
Sordo who finished the rally on third in his i20 had 13.6sec in hand over Jari-Matti Latvala of Toyota. Latvala was extra quotient in the final stages to relegate Craig Breen to fifth by just a tenth of a second. Breen had an error-free weekend in his Citroen C3 and the Irishman finished more than a minute ahead of Hayden Paddon. The only major retirement on the last day was Juho Hanninen who crashed his Toyota Yaris in the opening stage.
Next round of WRC, YPF Rally Argentina will be held at Villa Carlos Paz from April 27 to 30 2017.
