Rally Germany 2019
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Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) took more than a second from Ott Tänak (Toyota) on SS8 of the Rally Germany. It was Dani Sordo (Hyundai) who was the fastest, completing the 14,78km from Freisen in 8'28''0, almost 3 seconds ahead of Teemu Suninen (M-Sport).
Kris Meeke (Toyota) followed at 5 seconds, gaining half a second from Sébastien Ogier (Citroën). Esapekka Lappi (Citroën) finished almost 6 seconds behind, ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) by a few tenths. Andreas Mikkelsen (Hyundai) failed by around ten seconds, followed at a good distance by Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota).
Gus Greensmith (M-Sport) lost 3 minutes, probably following a double puncture as he reached the finish on a rim after stopping to change a wheel. The Briton is not sure of continuing, the crews leaving with only one spare wheel.
Kalle Rovanperä (Skoda) went off the road at the very end of the special while leading the WRC 2 Pro. The Finn hit trees at low speed and had to wait for help from spectators, losing several minutes. Mads Ostberg (Citroën) was stopped on the course and should have a fixed time.
Ott Tänak only has a lead of 1''5 over Thierry Neuville. Sébastien Ogier remains 3rd with 3 seconds ahead of Kris Meeke. Jari-Matti Latvala follows his teammate by almost 4 seconds, ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen. The Norwegian sees Esapekka Lappi come back to less than 9 seconds. Dani Sordo moved up to 8th place ahead of Takamoto Katsuta following problems with Gus Greensmith.
Stéphane Lefebvre (Volkswagen) completes the Top 10 by leading WRC 2. The Frenchman is more than 4 seconds ahead of Jean Kopecky (Skoda), new leader of WRC 2 Pro, and Nicolas Ciamin (Volkswagen). Éric Camilli (Ford) finds himself in second position in the category despite his penalty the day before following a pointing error.
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Exit from Rovanperä which hit trees at low speed. The Skoda driver who led the WRC 2 Pro is helped by spectators.
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Tänak failed 1″3 behind Neuville and only retained the lead for 1″5 over the Hyundai driver. “It was dirty on the road. We are on the same pace. »
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Neuville sets the 3rd fastest time, 3s behind his teammate Sordo. Will the Belgian be faster than Tänak? “The road had become very dirty, but I was well informed. It was very complicated. »
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Ogier ranks half a second behind Meeke and maintains a 3s lead in the standings over the Toyota driver. “It's a little different from the day before, but we still have to improve. »
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Meeke sets the 3rd fastest time, 5s behind Sordo and ahead of his teammate Latvala by more than a second. The Finn is almost 4s behind and Ogier will have to fight to keep his place on the provisional podium.
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Latvala sets the 4th time at 6″6 from the provisional reference. The Finn is fighting for the podium against Ogier and Meeke. “It’s not the time I was hoping for. »
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Mikkelsen sets the 4th provisional time, around ten seconds behind his teammate Sordo. The Norwegian fails more than 4 seconds behind Lappi and maintains an 8 second lead over the Citroën driver.
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Greensmith will have lost 3 minutes by finishing on the right rear rim. The Briton did not comment on his special.
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Lappi ranks almost 6s behind Sordo and maintains a little more than 16s ahead of Sordo. “Gus was very tidy in letting me pass without wasting my time. I attacked as much as possible. »
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Sordo improves Suninen’s time by 2″8. “I don’t know what we can do today. We will aim for the maximum. » The Spaniard takes 8th place with Greensmith's problems.
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Lappi overtook Greensmith in the special.
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Katsuta finished around twenty seconds behind Suninen. “I have the same approach as the day before. »
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Greensmith is stopped in the special after only 1km. The M-Sport driver was 8th ahead of Sordo. The crew seems ready to get back on the road.
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Suninen finished with a time of 8'30″8. “The conditions were very changeable. It was a little damp in the shade of the trees. »
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Katsuta is a dozen seconds behind Greensmith in the special.
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Conditions remain summery with blue skies and a completely dry road.
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It is Suninen who opens the road after having abandoned the day before. For once, it is the Rally2 driver who will have the best conditions unlike the leader of the event Tänak.
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Unsurprisingly, the hard tires are again present for this passage.
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The Rally Germany begins its second stage with more than 150 km of timed races spread over 8 stages.
Ott Tänak (Toyota) will look to maintain the advantage over Thierry Neuville (Hyundai), while Sébastien Ogier (Citroën) will have to protect his 3rd position against the other Toyota drivers.
The day should start at 8:12 a.m. with the 14,78km from Freisen.
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