Rally Germany 2019
19h
Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) took the scratch in the 10,73km Arena Panzerplatte, SS14 of the Rally Germany. The Finn was a tenth ahead of his teammate Ott Tänak. Dani Sordo (Hyundai) followed a few tenths ahead of Teemu Suninen (M-Sport) and Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) who took more than 3 seconds from his teammate Andreas Mikkelsen.
Sébastien Ogier (Citroën) failed 2”2 from the scratch but the six-time WRC champion stalled in the special.
Ott Tänak now has a 44 second lead over Kris Meeke who only retains his 2nd place by a second. Sébastien Ogier is less than 3 seconds behind the last Yaris WRC. Dani Sordo remains 5th with 10 seconds ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen. Thierry Neuville came back to within 3 seconds of the Norwegian. Esapekka Lappi follows at 11 seconds.
19h
Suninen is already in the second passage of Panzerplatte, the last timed 41km of the day.
19h
Tänak misses the scratch against his teammate Latvala by a tenth. Remember that the race leader is no longer under pressure with 44 seconds ahead of Meeke. “I didn't attack too much, I tried to stay clean. The road was quite dirty. We have to stay focused. »
19h
Neuville ranks 1″1 with the 4th time, finishing 4 tenths behind his teammate Sordo but gaining more than 3 seconds from Mikkelsen. “It was a good SS. I have a good feeling behind the wheel, but it's hard to keep up the pace now. » The Belgian came back to within 3 seconds of the Norwegian's 6th place.
19h
Ogier ranks 2″2 behind Latvala and 8 tenths behind Meeke. The Citroën driver is 2″7 behind the Finn in the general classification. “I stalled in the special, that didn’t help. »
19h
Meeke sets the 4th time, 1″4 behind his teammate Latvala. The Finn is 1″2 behind his teammate in the general classification. “We learned that Takamoto had a puncture at the start of the special and we had to be careful. »
19h
Latvala improves the benchmark by 7 tenths as he fights for 2nd place with Meeke and Ogier. “I was relaxed on this course and the time is good. I concentrate on the driving and not on the times. »
19h
Mikkelsen set the 3rd time, 3″6 behind his teammate Sordo, ahead of Lappi by a tenth. The Norwegian is 10s behind the Spaniard in the general classification. “There was more land. We really had to avoid punctures, I remained careful while preparing for the next ES. »
19h
Greensmith sets the 4th provisional time, 4s behind the benchmark. The M-Sport driver recovers 9th place. “We had a door that opened. It must be from my outing this morning. »
19h
Lappi fails 3″7 behind Sordo. The Citroën driver is ranked 8th behind the Hyundai trio. “I was careful when landing the jump (which had broken his windshield). We'll try to finish the day in one piece. »
19h
Sordo finished 3 tenths behind Suninen. The Hyundai driver is 5th ahead of his teammates Mikkelsen and Neuville. “Punctures are the lottery. It can happen anywhere because there are a lot of stones on the road. It was overall much better than in the first passage. »
19h
Katsuta crossed the finish line when his punctured wheel exploded, tearing the front wing off his Yaris WRC. The Japanese ranks 44s behind Suninen. “We had it from the start of the special. I don't know how it happened. I will have to be very careful in the next SS because I will no longer have a spare wheel. »
19h
Katsuta evolves with a puncture on the right front.
18h
Suninen sets a time of 6'05″3, improving by half a second on Tänak's scratch in the first run. “The grip was much higher, there was less dust on the road. »
18h
Suninen relaunched in the special as the sun began to set, hindering the visibility of the drivers.
18h
The crews are preparing to compete in the second passage of Arena Panzerplatte, 10,73km long. Tänak had signed the scratch earlier in 6'05"8. Suninen is expected to start at 18:55 p.m.
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