Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe won the Rally of Spain, the penultimate round of the WRC 2021. They did it deservedly, dominating almost the entire race thanks to an unsustainable pace for all rivals. But it didn’t go as smoothly as the end result suggests.
At the last reorganization, before the Power Stage, the number 11 Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC Plus, precisely that of Neuville, did not want to ignite. For several minutes the Belgian crew tried to do everything to reignite the 1.6 turbo of the Korean car, without succeeding.
A problem, the one that occurred today, which according to the words of Neuville himself is chronic. Throughout the season the car suffered from the same problem and the intervention of the stewards in the reorganization area was decisive in getting the i20 to restart and allow Neuville and Wydaeghe to win their second event of the season.
“My car was literally on fire, it was burning, but it is a problem that we have had to face several times this season and unfortunately it seems that it has not been solved.” Neuville immediately made it clear, who at the end of the race seemed more upset about what happened a few minutes before the test than happy for the success obtained.
Thierry Neuville, Hyundai Motorsport
Photo by: Fabien Dufour / Hyundai Motorsport
“Sometimes the car just refuses to start. With a bit of luck the car can start again at some point. Or not. The only way to start it is to push it and luckily this time we weren’t far from tidying up. Martijn (Wydaeghe, the navigator, ed) and I tried to push the car and get to the rearrangement. At that point we were allowed to be helped by the commissioners “.
“Luckily, once again, there were enough marshals to help us and the car started immediately. That was why we were able to continue. Of course we are smiling now, especially after what happened before the Power Stage.”
Neuville admitted that, in his opinion, the car would certainly start again. After all, he has had to deal with the same problem all season. However, this caused him considerable stress.
“I was pretty sure we would be able to get the car started again, but we are still pretty stressed. And then the rain came in the final test. We were very stressed, but we were good at keeping calm and doing the necessary work.” .
“The final victory probably does not show how hard we had to work. We had a clean race until the last stage. Up to that point, everything worked perfectly,” concluded the 33-year-old from Hyundai Motorsport.
Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe won the Rally of Spain, the penultimate round of the WRC 2021. They did it deservedly, dominating almost the entire race thanks to an unsustainable pace for all rivals. But it didn’t go as smoothly as the end result suggests.
At the last reorganization, before the Power Stage, the number 11 Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC Plus, precisely that of Neuville, did not want to ignite. For several minutes the Belgian crew tried to do everything to reignite the 1.6 turbo of the Korean car, without succeeding.
A problem, the one that occurred today, which according to the words of Neuville himself is chronic. Throughout the season the car suffered from the same problem and the intervention of the stewards in the reorganization area was decisive in getting the i20 to restart and allow Neuville and Wydaeghe to win their second event of the season.
“My car was literally on fire, it was burning, but it is a problem that we have had to face several times this season and unfortunately it seems that it has not been solved.” Neuville immediately made it clear, who at the end of the race seemed more upset about what happened a few minutes before the test than happy for the success obtained.
Thierry Neuville, Hyundai Motorsport
Photo by: Fabien Dufour / Hyundai Motorsport
“Sometimes the car just refuses to start. With a bit of luck the car can start again at some point. Or not. The only way to start it is to push it and luckily this time we weren’t far from tidying up. Martijn (Wydaeghe, the navigator, ed) and I tried to push the car and get to the rearrangement. At that point we were allowed to be helped by the commissioners “.
“Luckily, once again, there were enough marshals to help us and the car started immediately. That was why we were able to continue. Of course we are smiling now, especially after what happened before the Power Stage.”
Neuville admitted that, in his opinion, the car would certainly start again. After all, he has had to deal with the same problem all season. However, this caused him considerable stress.
“I was pretty sure we would be able to get the car started again, but we are still pretty stressed. And then the rain came in the final test. We were very stressed, but we were good at keeping calm and doing the necessary work.” .
“The final victory probably does not show how hard we had to work. We had a clean race until the last stage. Up to that point, everything worked perfectly,” concluded the 33-year-old from Hyundai Motorsport.
Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe won the Rally of Spain, the penultimate round of the WRC 2021. They did it deservedly, dominating almost the entire race thanks to an unsustainable pace for all rivals. But it didn’t go as smoothly as the end result suggests.
At the last reorganization, before the Power Stage, the number 11 Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC Plus, precisely that of Neuville, did not want to ignite. For several minutes the Belgian crew tried to do everything to reignite the 1.6 turbo of the Korean car, without succeeding.
A problem, the one that occurred today, which according to the words of Neuville himself is chronic. Throughout the season the car suffered from the same problem and the intervention of the stewards in the reorganization area was decisive in getting the i20 to restart and allow Neuville and Wydaeghe to win their second event of the season.
“My car was literally on fire, it was burning, but it is a problem that we have had to face several times this season and unfortunately it seems that it has not been solved.” Neuville immediately made it clear, who at the end of the race seemed more upset about what happened a few minutes before the test than happy for the success obtained.
Thierry Neuville, Hyundai Motorsport
Photo by: Fabien Dufour / Hyundai Motorsport
“Sometimes the car just refuses to start. With a bit of luck the car can start again at some point. Or not. The only way to start it is to push it and luckily this time we weren’t far from tidying up. Martijn (Wydaeghe, the navigator, ed) and I tried to push the car and get to the rearrangement. At that point we were allowed to be helped by the commissioners “.
“Luckily, once again, there were enough marshals to help us and the car started immediately. That was why we were able to continue. Of course we are smiling now, especially after what happened before the Power Stage.”
Neuville admitted that, in his opinion, the car would certainly start again. After all, he has had to deal with the same problem all season. However, this caused him considerable stress.
“I was pretty sure we would be able to get the car started again, but we are still pretty stressed. And then the rain came in the final test. We were very stressed, but we were good at keeping calm and doing the necessary work.” .
“The final victory probably does not show how hard we had to work. We had a clean race until the last stage. Up to that point, everything worked perfectly,” concluded the 33-year-old from Hyundai Motorsport.
Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe won the Rally of Spain, the penultimate round of the WRC 2021. They did it deservedly, dominating almost the entire race thanks to an unsustainable pace for all rivals. But it didn’t go as smoothly as the end result suggests.
At the last reorganization, before the Power Stage, the number 11 Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC Plus, precisely that of Neuville, did not want to ignite. For several minutes the Belgian crew tried to do everything to reignite the 1.6 turbo of the Korean car, without succeeding.
A problem, the one that occurred today, which according to the words of Neuville himself is chronic. Throughout the season the car suffered from the same problem and the intervention of the stewards in the reorganization area was decisive in getting the i20 to restart and allow Neuville and Wydaeghe to win their second event of the season.
“My car was literally on fire, it was burning, but it is a problem that we have had to face several times this season and unfortunately it seems that it has not been solved.” Neuville immediately made it clear, who at the end of the race seemed more upset about what happened a few minutes before the test than happy for the success obtained.
Thierry Neuville, Hyundai Motorsport
Photo by: Fabien Dufour / Hyundai Motorsport
“Sometimes the car just refuses to start. With a bit of luck the car can start again at some point. Or not. The only way to start it is to push it and luckily this time we weren’t far from tidying up. Martijn (Wydaeghe, the navigator, ed) and I tried to push the car and get to the rearrangement. At that point we were allowed to be helped by the commissioners “.
“Luckily, once again, there were enough marshals to help us and the car started immediately. That was why we were able to continue. Of course we are smiling now, especially after what happened before the Power Stage.”
Neuville admitted that, in his opinion, the car would certainly start again. After all, he has had to deal with the same problem all season. However, this caused him considerable stress.
“I was pretty sure we would be able to get the car started again, but we are still pretty stressed. And then the rain came in the final test. We were very stressed, but we were good at keeping calm and doing the necessary work.” .
“The final victory probably does not show how hard we had to work. We had a clean race until the last stage. Up to that point, everything worked perfectly,” concluded the 33-year-old from Hyundai Motorsport.