Motorsports News | Bike Reviews | Gadget Reviews
  • Home
  • Bike Reviews
  • Car Reviews
  • Product Reviews
  • Motorsports News
    • Isle of Man TT

      • Isle of Man TT 2020
      • Isle of Man TT 2022
    • MotoGP

      • MotoGP 2020
      • MotoGP 2021
    • WSBK

      • WSBK 2020
      • WSBK 2021
    • Dakar

      • Dakar 2020
      • Dakar 2021
    • WRC

      • WRC 2020
      • WRC 2021
    • Asian Le Mans Series

      • Asian Le Mans Series 2019
      • Asian Le Mans Series 2020/2021
  • Press Releases
    • Press Releases
    • PR Newswire
  • Others
    • Biker Profiles
    • Launches
  • Contact Us
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
You are here: Home1 / MotorBugs Blog2 / Motorsports News3 / WRC 20214 / FIA World Rally Championship – Renties Ypres Rally Belgium. Thierry...

FIA World Rally Championship – Renties Ypres Rally Belgium. Thierry Neuville (Team Hyundai Shell Mobis) bags emotional Belgium WRC triumph.

Thierry Neuville(2)

Thierry Neuville

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe(2)

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe(1)

Craig Breen, Kalle Rovanpera, Thierry Neuville

Thierry Neuville(1)

Thierry Neuville clinched his first victory of the FIA World Rally Championship season on home roads at Renties Ypres Rally Belgium on Sunday afternoon.

He led for virtually the entire event, fending off a fierce first-day challenge from team-mate Craig Breen. The Hyundai i20 duo then settled for a formation finish after three days and almost 300km of action on narrow Flanders farm lanes and the Spa-Francorchamps race circuit.

Neuville’s winning margin was 30.7 sec and marked a first WRC win for co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe. The success revitalised Neuville’s title challenge, promoting him into a tie for second in the championship standings with Elfyn Evans.

After the finish of the final speed test at Spa, Neuville celebrated victory at Belgium’s first WRC round with a series of donuts before saying: “We had a lot of pressure coming here, but I felt quite comfortable all weekend and I could rely on my team and my car.

“It was a pleasure for me to give this first win to Martijn here in Belgium. It should have come earlier, but we were unlucky. It feels good here now.”

Neuville, Breen and Ott Tänak won 15 of the 20 speed tests between them for Hyundai Motorsport and the 1-2 finish enabled the squad to reduce the deficit to manufacturers’ series leaders Toyota Gazoo Racing to 41 points.

Irishman Breen, for whom this was only his second asphalt appearance in an i20 World Rally car, secured back-to-back runner-up finishes after a similar result in Estonia last month.

Kalle Rovanperä finished third in a Toyota Yaris after coming out on top of a frantic intra-team fight with Evans and Sébastien Ogier. The young Finn traded places with Evans all rally and regained third this morning before holding off the frustrated Welshman by 6.5 sec.

Ogier’s hopes of a podium place were ended by a Sunday morning puncture. There was consolation for the Frenchman as he extended his lead in the drivers’ championship to 38 points with four rounds remaining. He ended 6.2 sec behind Evans.

Tänak was a distant sixth after falling away from the victory fight with a Saturday morning puncture.

Belgium’s demanding roads caused a host of problems. Takamoto Katsuta and Adrien Fourmaux retired after huge crashes while Gus Greensmith and Pierre-Louis Loubet finished well down the order after sliding into ditches on Saturday morning.

Drivers are back on gravel next month as Acropolis Rally Greece returns to the championship for the first time since 2013. The rally will be based in Lamia on September 9-12.

Final positions:

1. T Neuville / M Wydaeghe BEL Hyundai i20 2 hr 30 min 24.2 sec

2. C Breen / P Nagle IRL Hyundai i20 +30.7 sec

3. K Rovanperä / J Halttunen FIN Toyota Yaris +43.1 sec

4. E Evans / S Martin GBR Toyota Yaris +49.6 sec

5. S Ogier / J Ingrassia FRA Toyota Yaris +55.8 sec

6. O Tänak / M Järveoja EST Hyundai i20 +3 min 46.5 sec

FIA World Rally Championship (after round 8 of 12)

1. S Ogier 162pts

2. E Evans 124pts

3. T Neuville 124pts

Credits : Photos and content courtesy of Red Bull Media House GmbH

Follow Us On Instagram!

Follow Us

Check Out Our Facebook Feed

This message is only visible to admins.
Problem displaying Facebook posts. Backup cache in use.
Click to show error
Error: Error validating access token: The user has not authorized application 1332798716823516. Type: OAuthException

Recent Motorbugs News

  • FIA World Rally Championship – Rally de Portugal: Elfyn Evans ahead after vicious Friday at Rally de Portugal.
  • APRILIA PRESENTS THE NEW RSV4 1100 FACTORY
  • MotoGP™ – Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) pounces to take French glory.
  • Moto2™ – Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) wins after Acosta heartbreak.
  • Moto3™ – Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jaume Masia produces final corner heroics for thrilling victory.
Copyright © 2020 Motorbugs
Web Solutions by Phlocode Web Solutions
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
MotoGP™ – Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) wins unbelievable... SIC out from MotoGP, Moto2 & Moto3 in 2022.
Scroll to top