“I still need to drive fast” on Sunday to clinch maiden WRC title

Thierry Neuville says he cannot afford to cruise through the Rally Japan’s final leg to secure a maiden World Rally Championship title following a stirring Saturday fightback.

The WRC points leader started Saturday outside the points-paying positions in 15th after Friday’s costly turbo failure dashed hopes of a relatively comfortable run to score the six points required to seal the crown.

Neuville anticipated he could recover to ninth after Saturday’s seven stages, only to eclipse the target with seventh position, which carries four valuable points if he finishes the rally on Sunday. 

The impressive drive under significant pressure means the five-time WRC runner-up only needs to pick up two points from a maximum 12 available from Super Sunday to clinch the championship.

While Neuville’s focus will be on securing the drivers’s title, he could have a role to play to help Hyundai seal a first manufacturers’ crown since 2020, which means it’s likely he will be required to push.  

“I’m not sure we can cruise, because everybody will be pushing for the manufacturers’ title. Andreas [Mikkelsen] will be back in the game and [M-Sport’s Gregoire [Munster] had some great speed today, so I still need to drive fast tomorrow,” Neuville told Motorsport.com. 

“Obviously I would be relieved if I didn’t need to push hard for the Power Stage, so if I can be in the top five in the Sunday classification that would be good.”

Reflecting on his Saturday recovery, Neuville admitted it was far from straightforward given the pressure of the title fight.

“The drive was great. The most difficult thing for me was managing the risk, as we are going for it and Ott is going for both championships, and the Toyotas are fighting for the manufacturers’. 

“They have nothing to lose and everything to gain, and for me it is the opposite, I have everything to lose. I needed a clever approach and still a good drive. We did what we could today, and tomorrow we just need to finish the job.”

Likewise, Neuville’s title rival and Hyundai team-mate Ott Tanak produced an equally – if not even more – impressive drive to open up a 38-second rally lead over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans  and keep his drivers’ title and Hyundai’s manufacturers’s title bid alive. 

“For the…