page_title: Thierry Neuville
section_title: 2017
hierarchical_section_title: Thierry Neuville / Rally career / Hyundai (2014–present) / 2017
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Thierry Neuville podczas wygranego Rajdu Korsyki 2017
context_page_description: Thierry Jean Neuville is a Belgian rally driver who is competing in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Motorsport. During his career, he has finished as runner-up in the drivers' championship five times and helped Hyundai win their first manufacturers' title, in 2019. His current co-driver is compatriot Nicolas Gilsoul, who has been his co-driver since 2011.
  Born in St. Vith, Neuville started rallying in 2007. Between 2009 and 2011 he competed in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, in 2009 he also made his World Rally Championship debut at the Rally Catalunya and in 2010 he competed in the Junior World Rally Championship. With promising results across the categories between 2009 to 2011, he was signed by the Citroën Junior Team and made his World Rally Car debut in 2012. In 2013, driving for the Qatar World Rally Team, he was a surprise runner-up in the championship, having scored his first podiums in the sport, finishing 114 points behind Sébastien Ogier who dominated the season.
  When Hyundai Motorsport re-entered the sport in 2014, the Korean manufacturer signed Neuville as their lead driver.
context_section_description: In 2017 Neuville and his teammates Paddon and Sordo started with yet another new version of the i20, the i20 Coupe.
  The season however started badly for the Belgian, finishing the first two rallies in 15th and 13th, having led both rallies before crashing. He finished the power stages in both rallies in first and third, still scoring eight points. After finishing the Rally Mexico in third place Neuville won the Tour de Corse and the Rally Argentina, becoming a world championship contender against Sébastien Ogier. In Portugal, both fought for the victory and Ogier won. Then, in Sardinia, where he had won in the previous season, Neuville only finished third, however, ahead of Ogier who finished fifth. His next victory came in Poland, and then, in Finland, Neuville only finished sixth, however, after his arch rival Ogier retired, it was enough for Neuville to take the championship lead for the first time in his career.
  Heading into the 2017 Rallye Deutschland, Neuville's goal was to retain the championship lead. However, a small impact on the first stage of the second day was enough to damage suspension and transmission of his car which resulted in having to retire from the day. Neuville was third before the accident and in front of Ogier who was fourth after the first day. He aimed to salvage points on the Power stage but could only manage sixth fastest, meaning he would score no points for the first time in 2017. Ogier retook the championship after finishing third and opened a 17-point lead over Neuville. Lightning then struck twice for the Belgian, as a lackluster performance in Spain ended when he clipped a rock on stage 16 and broke the steering, leaving him pointless for the second rally in a row and dropping him to third in the standings behind Ott Tänak.
  Neuville retook second place in the driver's standings in Wales, as he finished the rally in second position while Tänak finished sixth. Unable to match the pace set by rally winner Elfyn Evans, who used DMACK tyres, Neuville was the fastest of the drivers competing on Michelin. He finished ahead of Ogier, who was third, but the two extra points Ogier scored on the Power stage meant the Frenchman was crowned world champion for a fifth consecutive time.
  At the final rally of the season in Australia, Neuville took his fourth win of the season. The event was characterized by changeable conditions but after initial leader Andreas Mikkelsen suffered a double puncture, Neuville held off Latvala who was his closest challenger for most of the rally, the Finn eventually crashed on the last stage. The win meant Neuville secured the runners-up spot in the standings for the third time in his career.
caption: Neuville won the 2017 Tour de Corse, his first rally victory of the 2017 season.
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