@focus206 It's far from impossible that Neuville got someone to do the illegal recce and his later statement as good as confirms it for me.

“When asked, the Driver of Car No. 11 promptly admitted to the Stewards that he was aware of the identified person and that he had requested this person’s support in identifying specific concerns (areas where rocks had moved) in some Special Stages that the Crew will be required to compete on.

“The Driver presented an honest synopsis of the situation and apologised to the Stewards for his lapse in judgement. The Driver took the onus of responsibility for this infringement."