Thierry Neuville opens in Estonia with fourth place in super special | rally

Craig Breen won the 1 mile super special of the Estonia Rally on Thursday evening and is immediately the first leader. On the opening stage he was a tenth of a second faster than World Cup leader Kalle Rovanperä. Thierry Neuville was fourth fastest and is three tenths behind Breen.

With six drivers within the second, the tone has been set in Estonia. The super special was drawn up in a park a stone’s throw from the assistance zone in Tartu. Breen provided the surprise by setting the fastest time. The 1.6km ride was just a warm-up for the rest of the rally.

Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe set the fastest time in the shakedown with their Hyundai, over 6.23 km in Abissaare. The 2 were 4 tenths faster than the Toyota of World Cup leader Kalle Rovanperä. Home rider Ott Tänak had the third fastest time.

In the evening there is the ceremonial start followed by a short chrono ride.

“I’m not lying when I say this isn’t my favorite game,” Thierry Neuville began his analysis. “Both this rally and Finland’s will be very difficult for us. But we will do our best.”

“It was not an easy start with the rain. We are now going to fine-tune the set-up so that we can start with the necessary confidence.”

With 65 points behind World Cup leader Rovanperä, the Belgian can use a good result. This year he has not won a single rally and has not had a single rally without technical problems.

Tonight there will be a short chrono ride of 1.66 km in Tartu. Tomorrow there will be 2 loops of 4 rides. Saturday there will be 9 rides, 2 loops of 4 rides and then tonight’s super special again.

The rally closes on Sunday with 5 stages and a powerstage at the end.