Tänak big winner in Germany ahead of Neuville

Ott Tänak (Toyota) s’est offert sa seconde victoire consécutive cette saison en remportant le Rally from Germany after its success in Finland. Already victorious earlier this season in Argentina, the five-time Estonian winner in WRC won with more than half a minute ahead of his closest pursuers. He had already won the German event last year at the wheel of a Ford Fiesta WRC.

Le tiercé de tête a été chamboulé dans la première spéciale de la dernière étape suite aux abandons de Dani Sordo (Hyundai) et Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota). L’Espagnol a endommagé sa i20 WRC suite à une sortie de route, tandis que le Finlandais a été victime d’une fuite hydraulique.

His disappointments allowed Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) to take second place ahead of Esapekka Lappi (Toyota) who scored his best result on an asphalt event in the WRC.

The pilots M-Sport Sébastien Ogier and Teemu Suninen completed the Top 5. The five-time world champion limited his delay on the Championship leader by winning the Power Stage ahead of Ott Tänak, Esapekka Lappi, Craig Breen and Thierry Neuville. The Belgian still increases his lead by two points, now having a 23-point gap against the Frenchman, while the winner of the weekend is back to 13 points behind the French driver.

Power Stage bonus points: –
1. Ogier (5 points)
2. Tänak (4 points)
3. Lappi (3 points)
4. Breen (2 points)
5. Neuville (1 point) #WRC

— WRC (@OfficialWRC) August 19, 2018

Andreas Mikkelsen's 6th place allows Hyundai to contain the rise of Toyota Gazoo Racing. However, the Korean manufacturer saw its lead reduced from 26 to 13 points, with M-Sport slipping to third place, 17 units behind the Japanese brand.

Citroën had another very difficult weekend. Craig Breen was only able to offer the manufacturer a seventh position at the Chevrons, while Mads Ostberg retired after going off the road on the first course of the day while occupying 9th place ahead of his Irish teammate.

WRC standings after SS18 –
1. Tänak 3h 03m 36.9sec
2. Neuville +39.2sec
3. Lappi +1m 00.9sec
4. Ogier +1m 34.5sec
5. Suninen +2m 02.9sec
6. Mikkelsen +2m 13.8sec #WRC

— WRC (@OfficialWRC) August 19, 2018

Drivers' standings – Drivers' standings after ADAC Rallye Deutschland:

1. Neuville – 172 points
2. Ogier – 149 points
3. Tänak – 136 points
4. Lappi – 88 points #WRC

— WRC (@OfficialWRC) August 19, 2018

Despite a puncture, Jan Kopecky was able to regain the lead in WRC 2 to win the category and take control of the Championship. The Czech won with less than 4 seconds ahead of Kalle Rovanperä, while Fabio Andolfi completed the podium monopolized by Skoda. Nicolas Ciamin (Hyundai) is the first Frenchman classified in 7th position after being caught by Lukasz Pieniazek (Skoda) in the last special, the Pole following his compatriot Kajetan Kajetanowicz. The French driver is ahead of his compatriot Stéphane Lefebvre (Citroën).

WRC 2 standings after SS18 –
1. Kopecký 3h 16m 49.7sec
2. Rovanperä +3.8sec
3. Andolfi +18.1sec
4. Kreim +50.9sec
5. Kajetanowicz +54.4sec
6. Pieniazek +2m 20.4sec #WRC

— WRC (@OfficialWRC) August 19, 2018

Discover the analysis of the Rally of Germany carried out by our special correspondent in issue 2179 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.