Rally Sweden: Neuville counts cost of another lost win

Thierry Neuville says he must retain a positive frame of mind if he is to move on from losing the shot of another World Rally Championship win for the second event in succession. The Belgian looked on course for a victory on the Rally Sweden having opened up a 43secs lead over three days, only to crash out with four stages of the event remaining.

The second consecutive rally that Neuville has thrown away a likely win after an similarly late exit in Monte Carlo, though the 2016 runner-up could not hide his disappointment at seeing two potential maximum scores fall by the wayside, he has vowed to move on as best he can.

“I feel disappointed for the whole team that we lost the lead for such a small driving mistake. It was another issue with big consequences for the Championship. We have to focus on moving forward positively.”

Similarly, Hyundai team principal Michel Nandan says he takes heart from Neuville and Hyundai’s largely dominant pace on the opening two rounds despite the disappointing outcomes.

“I am sure we will look back at these two rounds as character-building for our team. We have crews who have shown their ability to fight for stage wins, we have a car that has potential to win rallies and we have the fighting spirit we need to succeed. The pieces of the puzzle are there