Rally Germany 2019
The final stage of the Rally Germany will be made up of 2 special stages covered twice. The day should start at 8:08 a.m. with the 28,03km from Garfschaft.
Camilli reaches the finish with damage to the front. The Frenchman hit a deer in a straight line. “I ran out of headlights to finish. » The M-Sport driver remains 2nd, coming back to 34 seconds behind WRC Pro leader Kopecky.
Kopecky finished with a puncture at the right rear, 50 seconds behind his teammate Rovanperä. “I'm still happy because I limited my loss of time. »
Kopecky is slowing down in the special. The Skoda driver led the WRC 2 Pro with a one-minute lead over Camilli.
After Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) in the first pass, it was Sébastien Ogier (Citroën) who suffered a puncture on Panzerplatte, SS15 of the German Rally. The Frenchman failed 1'33 behind the scratch achieved by Kris Meeke (Toyota). The Northern Irishman gained a dozen seconds from his teammate Ott Tänak who can now control his lead.
Dani Sordo (Hyundai) was the closest with less than 2 seconds behind. Teemu Suninen (M-Sport) followed in front of his compatriots Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) and Esapekka Lappi (Citroën). Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) finished a dozen seconds behind his Spanish teammate but still took almost 5 seconds from Andreas Mikkelsen.
Ott Tänak finished the second stage more than half a minute ahead of Kris Meeke who took a slight lead over Jari-Matti Latvala. Toyota can hope to score a hat-trick in this event. The Yaris WRCs are followed at a good distance by the Hyundais, Dani Sordo now ahead of Thierry Neuville who has taken over from Andreas Mikkelsen. Sébastien Ogier fell to 8th position almost half a minute behind his teammate Esapekka Lappi.
Ostberg is arrested again in this SS. The Norwegian had already suffered a puncture on the first pass.
Tänak finished in 6th place, dropping 11″5 to his teammate Meeke who returned to 32″4 from the lead of the race. “I had a great day. We were able to control a little here. »
This is the 6th time for Neuville who is more than 13s behind Meeke. The Belgian takes 5 seconds from Mikkelsen but is placed a dozen seconds behind Sordo. He catches up with the Norwegian with a 2s lead. “I had a problem with the car which disturbed me. I spun. »
Ogier finished 1'33 behind Meeke's provisional scratch. The Citroën driver finds himself behind his teammate Lappi 26s behind… “It’s this whole rally that is disappointing. We didn't need that. » The Frenchman finds himself 8th.
Meeke improves the provisional scratch by 1″7 and is more than 8 seconds ahead of his teammate Latvala who finds himself 9″4 from 2nd position. " I felt good. I didn't intend to attack at this point. It is not finished. »
Latvala sets the 3rd time, 6″5 behind Sordo. His place on the provisional podium is no longer in immediate danger with Ogier's troubles. “Kris Meeke is doing very well. I try not to make mistakes. This ES is not only based on the performances. »
This is the 4th time for Mikkelsen who finished 16″5 behind his teammate Sordo. “I would have liked us to be faster, we are working on it but it’s not easy. » The Norwegian could be caught by Neuville while Lappi is back to less than 6s.
Greensmith sets the 4th time, 27 seconds behind the benchmark held by Sordo. “The finish is still far away. » The Briton is 9th.
Ogier risks finding himself in the Hyundai trio in the general classification after his problems encountered in the special. The Frenchman still has to finish.
Ogier left after 1'25. In the absence of visible damage, it appears to be a puncture. The Frenchman resumed a steady pace.
Lappi signs the 3rd provisional time, 8″2 behind Sordo. The Finn remains 8th behind Neuville. “We're trying to get the car moving on the asphalt but it's a nightmare. We try to stay clean but the time sucks. »
Ogier would be stopped in the special at the 11th km! The Citroën driver was just off the provisional podium…
Neuville is also 6 tenths behind Meeke, tied with Ogier.
Sordo improves the reference by 1″7 while he is still in 5th place. “I tried to do the best I could. It went well. The tires held up well. »
Ogier is the fastest after Meeke in the first partial with 6 tenths behind the Northern Irishman.