Mikkelsen dominates, Latvala abdicates

The return to asphalt was eagerly awaited by many drivers, but it was real chaos that we witnessed this morning for the first two special stages of the Rally from Germany 2016.

Best time tied with his Volkswagen teammate Andreas Mikkelsen yesterday at shakedown, Jari-Matti Latvala was the first victim of the German round in SS1, victim of gearbox problems. The Finn was forced to retire but should return to Rally2 tomorrow. Another mishap for Eric Camilli (Ford Fiesta), reported stopped in the first special after going off the road.

It is finally Andreas Mikkelsen which came out the best from these first two SS, sometimes presenting wet areas in the undergrowth, and where mud quickly appeared on the track after the passage of the first cars.

Despite a hit having damaged a rim of his Polo R, the Norwegian, second in SS1 and third in SS2, took advantage of the error at a hairpin Sébastien Ogier (Volkswagen), first leader this morning, in the second sector to take control of the rally.

Le pilote VW devance de 2″7 la Hyundai i20 Thierry Neuville, best time of SS2, and 6″8 Ogier. Dani Sordo (Hyundai) follows in fourth position at 10″3 ahead of the Ford Fiesta RS of Ott Tänak and the DS3 WRC from Stéphane Lefebvre, 24″6 and 31″2 from Mikkelsen.

Mads Ostberg (Ford Fiesta), slowed down by steering problems and an inoperative handbrake, and Hayden Paddon (Hyundai), slowed down by a puncture in SS2, follow in the standings and are ahead of the first two WRC-2s in Armin Kremer (Skoda) and José Antonio Suarez (Peugeot 208 T16 R5). Esapekka Lappi (Skoda) is in third position in WRC-2 ahead of Yoann Bonato (Citroën DS3 R5).

The category also saw several competitors in difficulty this morning, notably Quentin Giordano (Peugeot 208 T16 R5), who went off the road in SS1, Quentin Gilbert (Citroën DS3 R5), who crashed in SS2, and Jan Kopecky (Skoda), started well with a second time in SS1, but suffered a puncture in SS2.

In the Junior WRC, Martin Koci dominates the rally ahead of Simone Tempestini at 1″4 and Terry Folb at 14″4. The second passage in the ES of Mittelmosel and Moselland will begin at 14:58 p.m.

Ranking after SS2