NEWS: WRC Rally Italia Sardegna Win For Thierry Neuville

Great news for fans of one of the nicest, most talented (& best bespectacled) drivers in the WRC – Thierry Neuville – as he netted a third WRC win for the fast-growing Hyundai Motorsport team, with a thrilling win on WRC Rally Italia Sardegna this weekend.

And, topping off a great weekend for them, fellow i20 pilot, Dani Sordo finished in fourth place for the fourth rally in a row... and as the new WRC Mr Consistency, moves up into second place in the 2016 Drivers’ Championship. 

It's rather like below Spaniard, Carlos Sainz in points mean prizes style... eh?

So, the strength and dominance of Volkswagen Motorsport and their ace drivers has been challenged again – despite their two top names, Jari-Matti Latvia and Sébastien Ogier finishing runner-up and P3  respectively on the podium, and leading the manufacturers championship... for now!

Once again, the new Generation i20 WRC is proving to be a force to be reckoned with – following on from Hayden Paddon's maiden win at Rally Argentina, in April. All great news for the sport and its fans. 

Hyundai said: "Thierry Neuville has been on sublime form throughout the rally, extending his lead over Volkswagen Motorsport’s Jari-Matti Latvala on the final day to win the rally by 24.8 seconds.

"The result marks the second victory for the New Generation i20 WRC this season, and the team’s third win in total after Rallye Deutschland in 2014 and Rally Argentina back in April.
"For Thierry Neuville, the victory is the result of a concerted team effort as well as the improved performance of the New Generation i20 WRC, and marks his first victory in WRC since Germany 2014. It is the most accomplished performance of his career with nine stage wins within his rally history."

Thierry Neuville commented: "A truly fantastic weekend! Great things come to those who earn them, and it’s definitely a nice feeling to share this victory with an amazing team. The New Generation i20 WRC has performed very well, class-leading. It’s been great fun to drive and we’ve felt comfortable. We didn’t feel too much pressure in final stages, but just focused on getting the car safely through to the end. We did everything we needed to and we can now celebrate our second WRC victory."

Hyundai Motorsport has now taken podiums in five out of six rallies this season, with two victories, making it the team’s most successful WRC season even before reaching the halfway point. The next round of the FIA WRC, WRC Rally Poland, takes place from June 30 to July 3, and will mark the halfway point of the 2016 WRC Championship.

Interesting times! 

And with Toyota back in the sport next year and Citroen and Ford expecting new machinery, we can expect some big battles and challenges to success of the Team Volkswagen crew... which we are sure they will relish the prospect of, being uber-competative and successful. Bring it on!

Meantime, it's great to see Thierry back on form. Bravo!