While racing in fourth position overall, the BFGoodrich Drivers Team representative on the Belgian round of the IRC was eliminated following an off on Day One's penultimate stage at the Ypres Rally.

Thierry Neuville, who was selected to drive the BFGoodrich Drivers Team car in Belgium shortly after celebrating his 21st birthday, kicked off the event in excellent fashion by taking part in a three-way tie on the fastest time during Thursday evening's shakedown.

He followed up on that performance by figuring between fourth and seventh place on Friday's first four stages in his Kronos Racing-prepared Peugeot 207 S2000, and stood out as a real threat to such established Intercontinental Rally Challenge stars as Juho Hanninen and 2006 Ypres winner Giandomenico Basso.

Thierry Neuville's run came to an untimely end, however, when an off on Friday's penultimate test (SS5) saw him crash out of fourth place, putting an end to his hopes of reaching parc ferme in Ypres in a strong position.

The Belgian youngster nonetheless profited from the opportunity to showcase his potential on the four stages he succeeded in completing.