WRC – Volkswagen remains wary in Germany

The first step of Rally of Germany, which included only two special stages, allowed Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala to stand out by being at the forefront of the German event. The Championship leader, who recently won in Finland, went straight to the attack by winning the two scratch points of the day. “Rally Germany started perfectly for us. The atmosphere in Cologne was superb and I was advantaged by my position on the road which saved me a few seconds. However, the rally will only really start in this second stage where we will have six difficult stages to face in the vineyards. It goes without saying that my objective is to maintain the lead in the rally. »

With less than six seconds ahead of his teammate Jari-Matti Latvala, the Finn can hope to stay in contact with the Frenchman today. The Scandinavian will have to stay on the attack to resist the pressure of Thierry Neuville which is only seven seconds away. “It was a good start for us and I am happy with this second place. I hope I can keep up with Seb’s pace today. I will also have to keep an eye on Thierry Neuville who is my direct opponent in the Championship. My Polo behaves very well even if I suffered from significant understeer in the first special like many other crews. »

With the risk of showers for the second stage, the hierarchy could evolve if the teams choose to evolve with different strategies. With only two stages completed, sporting director Jost Capito remains particularly wary even if the performance of the Polo R WRC on the asphalt seem more than promising. “We couldn’t have dreamed of a better start to our national rally. Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala were immediately in the mix. The Polo R WRC was also immediately competitive on its first asphalt rally. However, we have only covered 40km and there are still 330km ahead of us. The start was very promising for the future, but in the end it meant very little. What matters is that the whole team is confident for the 14 special stages that await us. »

Click on this link to watch the video summaries of the first stages of the Rally Germany.