WRC – Ogier makes the difference in Germany

Sébastien Ogier won almost all the stages of the first stage of the Rally from Germany, leaving only one scratch to his rival Jari-Matti Latvala (in SS3). Despite this domination, his lead is only 9” over the Finn who is holding on to keep up with the double world champion. Volkswagen came close to having a perfect day, finishing almost every course with its three drivers in the lead, Andreas Mikkelsen only missing the top three in SS8.

The pilots Hyundai Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville have a great duel for 4th place behind the Polo R WRC from Norwegian. The Spaniard regained the advantage in the last special for less than 2 seconds ahead of the Belgian. Elfyn Evans (Ford) protects as best he can his 6th place against his teammate Ott Tänak which is a few seconds ahead Hayden Paddon (Hyundai) and Mads ostberg (Citroen).

Chris Meeke (Citroën) lost around ten minutes at the head of the race after damaging the suspension of his DS3 WRC when he left the road.

Jan Kopecky (Fabia R5) retains the lead of WRC2 with a comfortable lead over Craig Breen (208 T16 R5) and Eric Camilli (Fiesta R5) following the abandonment ofArmin Kremer (Fabia R5), probably due to a mechanical problem. Julien Maurin (Fiesta R5) also had to dismount.

Romain Dumas (Porsche 911 GT3 RS) finishes the first stage in the top 20. His rival Francois Delecour ended his day with a hydraulic leak following a trip off the road.

The crews will compete in the second stage of the Rally Germany from 7:34 a.m. Click on this link to see the videos of the event.