Thierry Neuville scores surprising WRC win at Corsica's Tour de Corse

Thierry Neuville grabbed a dramatic victory at the WRC Corsica Linea – Tour de Corse on Sunday afternoon after final-stage heartbreak for Elfyn Evans.

Neuville was on the way to the podium ceremony in Calvi believing he had finished second when he discovered leader Evans had punctured a tire in the final speed test. Evans dropped 90 seconds, limping to the finish and handing Neuville a victory in his Hyundai i20 that moved the Belgian into a two-point lead in the FIA World Rally Championship.

Neuville carried a 4.5 second lead into Sunday’s final leg on Corsica’s east coast. His hopes took a hit when Evans destroyed him in the opening test, regaining 16.0 seconds to move into a seemingly comfortable 11.5 second advantage ahead of the final Wolf Power Stage.

“I tried to contact the team to get information, but we were unsure if we had won or not,” said Neuville. “Arriving at the podium I saw my mechanics and only then I understood we had.

“I’m really disappointed for Elfyn, who did a really good job, but we deserved it as well. It was a great battle.”

Three times Evans fought back to regain the lead during a topsy-turvy weekend on the asphalt, but there was no opportunity to do so for a fourth time.

“It’s difficult to accept but it’s the nature of the sport,” he said. “I think it happened on a straight piece of road, a hole or piece of stone that had lifted. I felt it straightaway but tried to drive on it to see if we could minimize the time loss.”

Sébastien Ogier was second, 40.3 seconds behind Neuville, after a torrid rally in his Citroen C3. Handling problems slowed the Frenchman and despite many set-up changes, he never found the pace he expected. He was 26.3 seconds ahead of Evans.

Dani Sordo took fourth in another i20, despite final day brake problems. The Spaniard fended off Teemu Suninen’s Fiesta by 6.2 seconds.

Ott Tänak completed the top six in a Toyota Yaris, the Estonian unable to recover from Saturday afternoon’s puncture which cost him the lead and a potential second victory of the season.

Esapekka Lappi and Sébastien Loeb were seventh and eighth, with Yaris team-mates Kris Meeke and Jari-Matti Latvala completing the leaderboard. Meeke provided some solace for Toyota by gaining maximum bonus points for winning the Wolf Power Stage.

Round five takes competitors to South America for the first of two fixtures there in three weeks. The gravel-road Xion Rally Argentina is based in Villa Carlos Paz April 25-28.
 

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