Belgian Thierry Neuville (36) became the first Belgian world rally champion on Sunday. His only remaining rival for the title, the Estonian Ott Tänak, went off the track and retired on the first stage of the day at the Rally of Japan, the final round of the World Rally Championship (WRC).
Neuville started the Rally of Japan with a 25-point lead over Tänak, needing only six points to win the championship. But after a 15th-place finish on Friday due to a loss of power, the Belgian almost saw his title hopes dashed. Neuville responded with a solid seventh-place finish on Saturday, which earned him four points and left him just two points shy of his first championship win.
The decisive moment came on Sunday's first stage when Tänak slid off the track. His crash caused extensive damage and forced the Estonian driver to withdraw from the race. As a result, Tänak lost his 18 points from Saturday, ensuring Neuville of the first place in the standings before the end of the rally.
'Historic'
"To be honest, this came as a surprise. I do not really know what to say at the moment," said Neuville on hearing of Tänak's crash. "After a challenging and tough season, I think we deserved this title. There was obviously more pressure than we needed, especially for this last rally. We knew there were still risks, but considering the problems we had this weekend, we handled them well."
Neuville has been runner-up in the WRC five times (in 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019), but this is the first time he was able to win. This season, Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe won two rallies, in Monaco and Greece, and finished on the podium a further four times.
The Belgian Royal family congratulated Neuville and Wydaeghe on winning the world rally title, calling it "historic" and "an incredible achievement."
🤩 Historique! @thierryneuville est le premier Belge à être sacré champion du monde de rallye @OfficialWRC avec son copilote @MWydaeghe! Une performance incroyable. Félicitations! 🎉🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/mr0Vu8boiE
— Belgian Royal Palace (@MonarchieBe) November 24, 2024
