Hyundai’s recent victory at the Sardinia Rally clearly proves that sometimes you have to take a risk in life. As Esapekka Lappi explained after the race, it can be dangerous, but you can also win big if all goes well.
Hyundai chose to err on the side of caution with its tire strategy on Friday and Saturday, and the decision was confirmed on both days.
While the team’s opponents were struggling – including Sébastien Ogier, who had fallen off the lead – both Lappi and Thierry Neuville managed to stay out of trouble and take complete control of the race on Saturday night.
Although the elimination of competitors may have been the reason why Lappi and Neuville finished in the top two in Italy, Lappi was not.
“First and foremost, the first and second places are a very strong result for our team,” Lappi told DirtFish. – A lot has happened in the past months in our team, so it was very important for us to get the first victory. In the last competition, we already took 3rd and 4th places, and now we are 1st and 2nd, which is a really impressive result. This is a bonus for mechanics, engineers and all team members. There were some risky strategies with the tires on Friday afternoon, but it was worth it. We sacrificed all of our tires yesterday afternoon and it was worth it. There is a way that a higher risk can also bring a higher return. We have now achieved a really strong result.”
Thierry Neuville initially risked everything, but stopped doing it in time. Instead of fighting for bonus points in the Power Stage, the Belgian rider focused on getting to the finish line.
“Yes, it’s a very good result for us to have a double success after a difficult weekend for everyone,” Neuville said. – I would have liked to have scored more points in the Power Stage, but obviously it would have been too risky with our tyres, two spare wheels and the difficult conditions that developed with the first one 50 minutes before the start. There was no reason to press any further, we just finished with 25 points and took our 18th win.”
