WRC Rally Italy: Neuville beats Ogier to take last stage win
Hyundai's Thierry Neuville overhauled World Rally Championship rival Sebastien Ogier on the last stage in a dramatic conclusion to win Rally Italy by just 0.7 seconds
Neuville and co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul began Sunday's stages 3.9s behind their rival but won all four of the day's tests to eclipse Ogier, in what was the equal third closest finish in WRC history.
The result extends Neuville's championship lead to 27 points over Ogier, with the Belgian securing a maximum score after also winning the powerstage.
Neuville and Toyota's Jari-Matti Latvala are the only two drivers to take a maximum score since the introduction of the new WRC rules for 2017.
Neuville also managed the feat on last year's Rally Argentina, which he also won by 0.7s.
Ogier had been leading this weekend's rally since Friday afternoon, holding a lead of 19s after the opening day.
The world champion saw that gap eroded on Saturday however when a cautious run through the first pass of Monte Lerno and a stall on a short superspecial stage eroded his advantage.
The M-Sport driver was powerless to stop Neuville taking his ninth career win on Sunday, not being helped by a late scare with his time card where he initially left the stop line of the penultimate stage without it.
Toyota's Ott Tanak finshed that stage after Ogier, and picked up the time card to deliver it to the crew at the regroup before the powerstage.
Esapekka Lappi took his first podium of the year with third place for Toyota, a result the Finn felt he deserved after showing the pace to do so earlier in the year.
Lappi had been battling team-mate Latvala for the position, but Lappi's run to third became a lot easier when Latvala was forced to retire on the road section back to service with alternator issues on Saturday night.
Hayden Paddon finished fourth for Hyundai on just his third rally of the year, edging out a close fight with Citroen's Mads Ostberg by 15.7s.
Craig Breen was a distant sixth after enduring a difficult weekend that began with handbrake issues on Friday.
The Irishman struggled to match the pace at the front thereafter. Latvala restarted on Sunday and headed a bunch of drivers starting under the Rally2 regulations to take seventh overall.
Tanak recovered to eighth, having retired from Friday's final stage with damage after a heavy landing over a jump.
Result
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thierry Neuville, N.Gilsoul | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai | 3h29m18.7s |
| 2 | Sebastien Ogier, J.Ingrassia | M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford | 0.7s |
| 3 | Esapekka Lappi, J.Ferm | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota | 1m56.3s |
| 4 | Hayden Paddon, S.Marshall | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai | 2m55.2s |
| 5 | Mads Ostberg, T.Eriksen | Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT | Citroen | 3m10.9s |
| 6 | Craig Breen, S.Martin | Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT | Citroen | 4m31.7s |
| 7 | Jari-Matti Latvala, M.Anttila | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota | 11m22.1s |
| 8 | Jan Kopecky, P.Dresler | Skoda Motorsport II | Skoda | 13m14.6s |
| 9 | Ott Tanak, M.Jarveoja | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota | 13m18.2s |
| 10 | Teemu Suninen, M.Markkula | M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford | 15m30.4s |
Drivers' standings
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thierry Neuville | 149 |
| 2 | Sebastien Ogier | 122 |
| 3 | Ott Tanak | 77 |
| 4 | Esapekka Lappi | 70 |
| 5 | Dani Sordo | 60 |
| 6 | Andreas Mikkelsen | 56 |
| 7 | Elfyn Evans | 46 |
| 8 | Kris Meeke | 43 |
| 9 | Jari-Matti Latvala | 37 |
| 10 | Craig Breen | 34 |
| 11 | Mads Ostberg | 26 |
| 12 | Teemu Suninen | 24 |
| 13 | Hayden Paddon | 22 |
| 14 | Sebastien Loeb | 15 |
| 15 | Pontus Tidemand | 11 |
| 16 | Jan Kopecky | 9 |
| 17 | Bryan Bouffier | 4 |
| 18 | Gus Greensmith | 2 |
| 19 | Lukasz Pieniazek | 2 |
| 20 | Pedro Heller | 1 |
| 21 | Yoann Bonato | 1 |
| 22 | Stephane Lefebvre | 1 |
Neuville within two seconds of Ogier as Rally Italy reaches climax
Rally Italy: WRC title contender Ogier's result under investigation
How Tanak turned the tables to deliver Hyundai a timely WRC triumph
The 2019 champion has been a bit-part player recently, but Ott Tanak ended a 15-month drought in fine style with a dominant win in Sardinia. On a weekend when championship leader Kalle Rovanpera struggled with cleaning the road, his Hyundai rival has made his belated arrival into the title race and given cause for those predicting a walkover from the Toyota star to pause
How Rovanpera overcame rallying royalty in Portugal to extend his WRC lead
Although the Rally Portugal entry list featured World Rally Championship royalty in Sebastiens Loeb and Ogier, victory was secured by rallying's rising star in Kalle Rovanpera. Here's the story of his 2022 hat-trick, as his key rivals faltered among the gravel and asphalt ahead of them
The former WRC star playing the unsung hero role for Rovanpera
Kalle Rovanpera’s 2022 World Rally Championship displays have been spectacular, with the Toyota driver benefitting from a secret weapon in his crew to win two of the opening three rallies. But while the former challenger to Sebastien Loeb won’t take credit for his fellow Finn's performances, a key bond has been formed which could prove key to Rovanpera’s title charge
How Rovanpera's Croatia turnaround sent a message to his WRC rivals
After a dominating Rally Croatia, a wrong tyre choice on the final day looked to have undone all Kalle Rovanpera's hard work and left him with a mountain to climb heading into the power stage. That he emerged the winner all the same has surely quelled any lingering doubts that the Finn is the man to beat in the 2022 WRC
How M-Sport's faith in Loubet led to a WRC reprieve after a dismal 2021
It's fair to say 2021 was a year to forget for Pierre-Louis Loubet. A maiden full World Rally Championship season offered hope but soon turned into a nightmare that ended in hospital, after being hit by a car in a road traffic accident. Now handed a lifeline by M-Sport, the Frenchman is desperate to rebuild his career
Why WRC mechanics deserve more respect
The drivers get the glare of attention, but it’s the mechanics who are key to the operation of any World Rally Championship car. Autosport donned a set of overalls and joined M-Sport on a Belgian national rally event to get an inside look into the trials and tribulations of a rally mechanic
The African McRae aiming to become a WRC pioneer
Taking his first step into the Junior World Rally Championship category, McRae Kimathi - named after 1995 world champion Colin - found himself in the unfamiliar climes of Sweden's snow and ice. Having impressed, Kimathi hopes to blaze a trail to the top level of WRC and help other African drivers to step onto the ladder
How Rovanpera grabbed the Rally Sweden spotlight after the Loeb vs Ogier show
After a blockbuster opening act to the new era of the World Rally Championship with the battle of the Sebastiens at Monte Carlo, Rally Sweden would be the first chance to assess the next superstar of rallying. While teething issues with the new hybrid power thwarted some of the cast, Kalle Rovanpera’s display gave him headline billing