Ypres Rally Belgium – Day Two
Hyundai Motorsport continues to lead Ypres Rally Belgium at the end of the penultimate day with home heroes Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe holding an increased 10.1-second lead over team-mates Craig Breen and Paul Nagle.
Photo:Hyundai
While the team strengthened its provisional 1-2 with an extended gap to its rivals, Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja dropped to sixth overall after picking up a puncture on today’s first stage.
The Saturday schedule started with the longest stage of the rally, the 25.86km Hollebeke test, which set the tone for the day ahead. Another compact itinerary saw crews move quickly onto Dikkebus (12.49km), Watou (13.62km) and Mesen-Middelhoek (7.99km) stages ahead of lunchtime flexi service at Ypres. All four stages were repeated in the afternoon to bring the day’s total stage distance to 119.92km.
The competitive pace of the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC on the narrow Belgian tarmac roads was evident once again with a further five stage wins adding to the clean sweep scored by the team on Friday. Two fastest times for Breen in SS9 and SS10 reduced the gap to Neuville but the home star returned the favour at the end of the morning loop, and twice more in the afternoon, to increase his lead once more.
After the 15 special stages completed so far (Friday’s SS8 was cancelled), Hyundai Motorsport has set 12 fastest times, seven 1-2s and a 1-2-3, underscoring a strong all-round team effort with four tests still to run on Sunday, situated around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
Neuville said: “We have had another controlled, trouble-free day and we can only be satisfied. We have stayed away from punctures and any other issues, as well as setting some more fastest times. The only moment we had was when I went straight at a junction but, even then, we only lost half a second. I decided to take a good but steady rhythm and keep things under control. The handling of the car has been nice, and I’ve been enjoying our home event. We have now completed a big part of the rally, managed very well by us, but I am conscious that we have another day to go. They will be very different to the stages we’ve had so far, so nothing is done yet. We have to be clever, but I hope we can have a nice day.”
Crew Notes: Craig Breen/Paul Nagle (#42 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
Breen said: “It’s been a very nice day from start to finish. We have tried to make no mistakes, and I am happy that I have found a rhythm that I can manage; it’s not only being on the pace but also being able to control it. I am super happy with the performance we’ve shown; we’ve taken another good step forward. I’ve had a nice feeling from the car, and it’s important for us to have two cars in a 1-2. Spa tomorrow may not have many kilometres but there will be room for mistakes. We have to protect our positions, which would be a great boost for the championship.”
Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
Tänak said: “We have had another day of new stages to us, so it’s been important to get through and to get the knowledge. That’s really been the best that we could achieve at the moment. Unfortunately, we picked up a puncture on the opening run. As we had 10kms to go, we decided to stop to change the tyre in the stage, which lost us time. This is a new event for us, so it has been crucial to learn this rally; we can see how demanding it is and how many surprises there are. The stages are nice, especially with the higher grip on the second loop.”
Team Principal Andrea Adamo said: “We have finished the day with a 1-2. It’s a pity that it’s not a 1-2-3 but Ypres is a rally full of tricky places, and Ott found one. There is a long trip to Spa-Francorchamps tomorrow, which will be very different stages and we will have some new tricks to master and to be mindful of. This rally is not over but it is, for sure, nice to be in this sort of position heading into the final day.”
Sunday at a glance
Classification after Day Two
The Saturday schedule started with the longest stage of the rally, the 25.86km Hollebeke test, which set the tone for the day ahead. Another compact itinerary saw crews move quickly onto Dikkebus (12.49km), Watou (13.62km) and Mesen-Middelhoek (7.99km) stages ahead of lunchtime flexi service at Ypres. All four stages were repeated in the afternoon to bring the day’s total stage distance to 119.92km.
The competitive pace of the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC on the narrow Belgian tarmac roads was evident once again with a further five stage wins adding to the clean sweep scored by the team on Friday. Two fastest times for Breen in SS9 and SS10 reduced the gap to Neuville but the home star returned the favour at the end of the morning loop, and twice more in the afternoon, to increase his lead once more.
After the 15 special stages completed so far (Friday’s SS8 was cancelled), Hyundai Motorsport has set 12 fastest times, seven 1-2s and a 1-2-3, underscoring a strong all-round team effort with four tests still to run on Sunday, situated around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
- Belgians added three more stage wins on Saturday with masterful strategy
- Crew aiming for home rally victory with four stages remaining
Neuville said: “We have had another controlled, trouble-free day and we can only be satisfied. We have stayed away from punctures and any other issues, as well as setting some more fastest times. The only moment we had was when I went straight at a junction but, even then, we only lost half a second. I decided to take a good but steady rhythm and keep things under control. The handling of the car has been nice, and I’ve been enjoying our home event. We have now completed a big part of the rally, managed very well by us, but I am conscious that we have another day to go. They will be very different to the stages we’ve had so far, so nothing is done yet. We have to be clever, but I hope we can have a nice day.”
Crew Notes: Craig Breen/Paul Nagle (#42 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
- Irish crew started Saturday strongly with two stage wins
- Impressive performance to strengthen second place overall
Breen said: “It’s been a very nice day from start to finish. We have tried to make no mistakes, and I am happy that I have found a rhythm that I can manage; it’s not only being on the pace but also being able to control it. I am super happy with the performance we’ve shown; we’ve taken another good step forward. I’ve had a nice feeling from the car, and it’s important for us to have two cars in a 1-2. Spa tomorrow may not have many kilometres but there will be room for mistakes. We have to protect our positions, which would be a great boost for the championship.”
Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
- Puncture on day’s opening stage dropped the Estonians to sixth
- Crew continued to amass valuable experience on the unique Ypres roads
Tänak said: “We have had another day of new stages to us, so it’s been important to get through and to get the knowledge. That’s really been the best that we could achieve at the moment. Unfortunately, we picked up a puncture on the opening run. As we had 10kms to go, we decided to stop to change the tyre in the stage, which lost us time. This is a new event for us, so it has been crucial to learn this rally; we can see how demanding it is and how many surprises there are. The stages are nice, especially with the higher grip on the second loop.”
Team Principal Andrea Adamo said: “We have finished the day with a 1-2. It’s a pity that it’s not a 1-2-3 but Ypres is a rally full of tricky places, and Ott found one. There is a long trip to Spa-Francorchamps tomorrow, which will be very different stages and we will have some new tricks to master and to be mindful of. This rally is not over but it is, for sure, nice to be in this sort of position heading into the final day.”
Sunday at a glance
- Sunday’s action moves towards the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit for four stages, a repeat of two tests: Stavelot (9.05km) and Francorchamps (11.21km)
- As always, the final run of the weekend will be held as the Power Stage with additional points up for grabs in the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships.
Classification after Day Two
| 1 | T. Neuville | M. Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 2:06:18.8 |
| 2 | C. Breen | P. Nagle | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | +10.1 |
| 3 | E. Evans | S. Martin | Toyota Yaris WRC | +42.4 |
| 4 | K. Rovanperä | J. Halttunen | Toyota Yaris WRC | +45.7 |
| 5 | S. Ogier | J. Ingrassia | Toyota Yaris WRC | +46.7 |
| 6 | O. Tänak | M. Järveoja | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | +3:55.2 |
