WRC: Neuville crashes Hyundai during test

Thierry Neuville's Rally of Portugal preparations were interrupted when he crashed Hyundai's test car on Tuesday.

The Belgian and his co-driver Nicola Gilsoul were uninjured in the crash and the team is reporting the i20 WRC has been repaired and is running again in Portugal.

"The accident happened this morning when Thierry lost control of the car. He went off and hit the rear of the car," a spokesman from the team explained. "The test team brought back the car to service, fixed it and some more runs were done by Thierry later this afternoon."

The crash will not impact on Dani Sordo's running on Wednesday or Hayden Paddon's two-day test at the end of the week, according to the team. Neuville will be running the #20 New Generation i20 WRC in Portugal next week.

He has already said the absence of pressure to score manufacturer points will help him push for his second ever World Rally Championship victory, following on from team-mate Paddon's South American success in Argentina last month.

It remains to be seen if this latest setback slows Neuville in his efforts to rekindle the kind of form that made him a star of the WRC 12 months ago.

Originally on Autosport.com