Sordo and Hyundai livened up the end of the race

If the differences are often small at Rally from Germany, the duel between Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville was particularly close since the two drivers Hyundai reached the finish with a gap of a tenth to the advantage of the Spaniard. The winner of the 2013 edition took second place behind Sébastien Ogier, while Thierry Neuville completed the podium with only a few seconds ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen who remained in the fight with the i20s WRC.

“It was incredibly close but I’m delighted to get our first podium of the season, rejoiced the Spaniard. We have been so close so many times this year with fourth places in Mexico, Argentina, Portugal and Sardinia. After the disappointment of not being able to participate in Finland, we wanted to achieve a good performance here. It wasn't easy with the difficult conditions, but we stayed focused and second place was the perfect reward. The car was flawless throughout the weekend. »

Thierry Neuville is obviously more disappointed to have to be satisfied with the last step of the podium for such a small margin, even if the Belgian took the three points from the Power Stage.

“It was a tough fight for second place and we did everything we could, admitted the winner of the 2014 edition. Despite everything, I am satisfied with this third place and that the team places two cars on the podium. It’s a special result for the team after such a complicated weekend with unpredictable weather. We have a great final stage with two special victories including the Power Stage. It wasn't enough to overtake Dani but we couldn't be closer. »

Rally Germany results

Discover the analysis of the Rally of Germany carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2077 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.