The Finn produced one of the drives of his WRC career as he became locked in an intense fight for victory with Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier for 14 of the 19 gravel stages, held in challenging weather conditions.Lappi ended Friday with a 0.1-second lead over the eight-time world champion only to fall 18.2s behind at the end of Saturday morning.However, Lappi applied pressure to close to …Keep reading

The reigning world champion was expecting a tall order in Sardinia starting first on the gravel stages on Friday at a rally that has yielded a best result of fifth in three previous top-tier attempts.However, the Finn finished third behind Hyundai duo Thierry Neuville and Esapekka Lappi after coming through desperately tricky conditions on Friday morning, before rain showers added to the …Keep reading

Neuville scored Hyundai’s first WRC win of 2023 after coming through challenging wet conditions to lead a 1-2 for the South Korean marque, with Esapekka Lappi finishing 33.0s behind.It was the first victory for the team since the tragic loss of Breen to a testing crash in April, leading Neuville and team principal Cyril Abiteboul to pay tribute to the Irishman in the victory …Keep reading

Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe enjoyed a relatively comfortable run through Sunday’s four stages to complete a 33 seconds victory from Hyundai team-mate Esapekka Lappi.World champion and standings leader Kalle Rovanpera completed the podium in third, 1m55.3s in arrears.The journey to reach the finish was far from easy as unseasonable rain showers produced treacherous conditions …Keep reading

Despite holding a healthy 36.4s overnight lead, Neuville elected to push while the majority of his rivals opted to preserve their cars and tyres.Heading into the final two stages of the rally, the Belgian opened up a 43.0s lead over Hyundai team-mate Esapekka Lappi, while championship leader Kalle Rovanpera maintained a lonely third, 2m11.2s adrift.Toyota’s Elfyn Evans cemented fourth …Keep reading