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Hyundai Thierry Neuville comes out of Rally Monte-Carlo with mixed feelings about his debut on the I20 Coupe last weekend.

Neuville and his co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul were the crew to beat for much of the rally until a wide moment on Saturday’s final stage left them with broken suspension and cost them a hard-fought 50-second lead.

Starting the final day in 15th position, and with little hope of improvement, Neuville won the rally-closing live TV Power Stage to salvage five drivers' points from the championship's opening round.

"Looking back at the event I have different feelings, I would say," Neuville told wrc.com.

"Of course, I'm very happy with the performance of me and Nicolas, and very happy with the performance of our car and the job of our team, I'm very thankful for that.

But on the other hand, I'm disappointed because we were the clear leaders of the event and the strongest team before a very small mistake had huge consequences."

"Even Sébastien Ogier went off twice, but he had more luck than us. But that's part of the rally, to be honest. We have been lucky ourselves in the past. Just not this time when we really deserved it..."

With no hope of climbing back into the points positions after the time loss, Neuville focused all his efforts on the Power Stage finale.

"We wanted to push hard there. We had to put the disappointment of Saturday afternoon behind us, and look to return to form. We definitely did that. It’s a consolation for what we missed out on this weekend," he said.

As well as his haul of points, Neuville left Monte Carlo feeling optimistic about the potential of his new all-new car.

"I feel good about it, and if you look the pace then we have to feel positive. Okay, still there is work to do, and we have to improve if we are keep that strong performance on the other events, but I'm satisfied because I already feel very comfortable in the car - and that's the main thing."

And with a total of seven wins from the rally's 15 stages, Hyundai team principal Michel Nandan was also encouraged by the debut of the new car.

"We didn't really have any big problems, just a small issue with Dani's car, but nothing really dramatic, so on this side it's quite positive," he said.

"In general I have to say the 2017 car looks really not bad. Now let's see how it will be on the more difficult conditions. We will know more in Mexico I think. But to start like this is not bad, even if we have not taken a lot of points."

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M-Sport driver Sebastian Ogier believes time is too early to think about title chances, after his stunning performance in Rally Monte Carlo, bringing his team first win in four years.

Ogier won the season opening event on his competitive debut in a Ford Fiesta WRC, beating rivals in similar 2017-spec cars from Citroën, Toyota and Hyundai.

Ogier and team-mate Ott Tänak were on course to make it a one-two for the new Fiesta, before an engine problem for Tänak allowed Jari-Matti Latvala to take second in a Yaris WRC.

But the Fiesta didn't have it all its own way. Citroën and Hyundai also collected stage wins with their new models, while Thierry Neuville led the rally for 12 stages in Hyundai's i20 Coupe until he crashed.

After four days of competition, on road conditions that are unique in the WRC, Ogier remained open minded about the threat posed by his rivals.

"It’s still a bit early to judge the performance of everyone, it’s very hard to see who’s making the big difference or to see any dominance from anybody," said Ogier.

"This is a good sign for the championship. I hope at the end of the day we are all there with similar performance, that’s good for the sport, but I also hope we continue in this way," he added.

Ogier has just two weeks until the recce of the next round in Sweden, a rally he won in 2015 and 2016.

"I love Sweden, it’s a rally I have won a couple of times and I look forward to it. In the past, the Fiesta has always been strong in Sweden and there’s nothing I can see which won’t allow me to be confident there," he said.

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Toyota Gazoo Racing Tommi Makkinen is eying another podium finish at the next WRC event in two weeks time, following his star Jari-Matti Latvala superb performance at Rally Monte-Carlo.

After 17 years away from WRC, the Japanese manufacturer has made it clear that 2017 will be a learning year with its Yaris World Rally Car, and Latvala’s podium came as a shock after little asphalt preparation.

The result thrilled Mäkinen and he immediately turned his attentions to the WRC’s second round in Sweden, the only pure winter event on the calendar, and the prospects of a repeat performance.

“We’ve done very little testing on asphalt, on gravel we’ve done close to 15,000km and have big experience of those conditions,” he told wrc.com. “Jari-Matti has done five days’ snow testing and he was pretty happy with the Swedish car and confident with that.

“After what we’ve seen here, it’s very, very realistic to think about fighting for a podium position in Sweden,” added Mäkinen, whose team will begin its final preparations with a snow test on home ground in Finland on Sunday.

Juho Hänninen was third on Friday before crashing into a tree and Mäkinen reflected on a debut that far exceeded expectations.

“We came here to learn and to see where we are standing and suddenly we knew this already on Thursday night. It was something amazing, everything was perfect, so perfect.

“We had a little drama with Jari-Matti which disturbed his concentration because a fuel pressure sensor wasn’t working properly. There was always a risk if he stalled the engine on the stage he would not start it, but how well he handled that situation,” he added.

Second ended a dismal run of form for Latvala, whose last podium came in Finland last July.

“It’s an amazing feeling. You would never imagine being better than second in the first rally with the new car. You can’t ask for more than that. Tommi has created this team and all the energy behind it to build this car and he has done a very good job,” he said.

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M-Sport boss Malcom Willson hailed the performace of his driver Sebastian Ogier after he delivered superb performance in Rally Monte Carlo, round one of 2017 WRC, bringing the team first win in the championship after four years.

Ogier joined the British squad just over a month ago following Volkswagen’s withdrawal from the championship.

Despite limited testing in M-Sport’s new Ford Fiesta, he scored a debut victory in the season-opener, his fourth consecutive Monte-Carlo win.
“I can’t put into words the feeling for the whole team,” said Wilson, whose last win was at Rally GB in 2012.

“Obviously to get Sébastien on board was an incredible feeling for me personally and this is the boost we needed as a company.
“Seb’s got a rally under his belt now so he can really start to understand the car. I know there will be a lot of good feedback from him and that helps to bring that new perspective and ideas to a team.”
Ogier’s late arrival at M-Sport meant he tested the Fiesta for only a day-and-a-half in the French Alps ahead of the rally, described as the most complex Monte for 20 years due to the mix of snow, ice and asphalt.
He will have two more days in the car ahead of next month’s Rally Sweden (9 - 12 February) during a test shared with team-mates Ott Tänak and Elfyn Evans. All three drivers won stages in Monte-Carlo.
“The thing that satisfies me more than anything else is that all three drivers set fastest times,” added Wilson.

“That gives me a lot of confidence. We have a great base car to work from so we just need to keep working and pushing. I feel we can go to every rally and challenge for victory.”

 

         

 

 

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