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WRC'16 Rally Germany Aug18-21 talk/results spoiler **

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#1 ·
Rn9 Rally Germany Aug18-21


Official website: adac-rallye-deutschland.de

Listen Live: wrc.com/live_popup_radio

WRC+ : Live Stages/Live Maps/Onboard Action/Full Highlights plus.wrc.com/


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Thursday Shakedown:


Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen shared fastest time in Thursday morning?s shakedown at ADAC Rallye Deutschland.

Hyundai?s Dani Sordo was quickest in the first run through the 4.55km Konz test, a mix of country roads and vineyard tracks near the rally base of Trier. Mikkelsen lowered the best time on each of his next three runs before Latvala matched it on his fifth and final pass.

The Finn completed more runs than his front-running rivals as he tried to find a perfect set-up in his Polo R.

?After my pre-event test I realised that maybe my car was too soft,? said Latvala. ?I didn?t get the best feeling when we started this morning so we went stiffer with the settings to fine-tune the right balance. Everything felt good in the last run and that?s the set up I will start with."

Drivers are on asphalt for the first time since January?s season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo and Latvala admitted it takes time to acclimatise to sealed-surface roads after a run of six successive gravel rounds.

?When I started testing I was braking very, very early and didn?t trust myself in the turns. It takes about 50km before you start to get in the groove and get the confidence back,? he said.

Sordo finished 0.5sec behind the Volkswagen duo, with Sebastien Ogier a further two-tenths of a second back. Hayden Paddon and Thierry Neuville were tied in fifth in Hyundai i20s, 1.3sec of the leading pace.

Eric Camilli was slowed during his first run with an engine sensor problem in his Ford Fiesta RS.

click: wrc.com/germany-shakedown

 
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#2 · (Edited)
Friday:

SS1 Mittelmosel 1 (22.00 km)
Sebastien Ogier drew first blood in the race for victory at ADAC Rally Deutschland - but VW’s happiness was tempered by a disastrous early retirement for Jari-Matti Latvala.



The reigning world champion was keen to make a positive start to the first all-asphalt round of the season after failing to score any points at Neste Rally Finland last month.

And he showed the rest of the field he meant business as he went 1.9s faster than team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen in Mittelmosel 1.

“For sure, there were some tricky sections,” Ogier said. “I was a bit careful for the first stage – it was not so easy to find a good rhythm.”

Mikkelsen’s start was good but it could have been even better if he hadn’t made a small mistake in the stage. “I hit a bank a little and there was a vibration after that,” the Norwegian explained. “But everything is good for me.”

Latvala’s charge didn’t make it past the 13.7km marker. The VW team reported that the Finn’s Polo R had suffered a gearbox problem and there was no alternative other than to retire. He was expected to restart on Saturday under Rally2.

Next up in the standings were a brace of Hyundai i20 WRCs. Thierry Neuville was third fastest, only 5.5s off Ogier’s benchmark pace, while team-mate Dani Sordo was just behind a further 6.7s down.

Neuville hadn’t enjoyed the Mittelmosel 1 test and was pleased to see his time was as strong as it was. He said: “That was horrible - undriveable. I didn’t feel comfortable at all. I was struggling like hell, no confidence at all.”

The Belgian felt his uncomfortable feeling was largely down to the slippery conditions on the mud-strewn road but also said that he needed to work on the set up of his car to discover a better feeling and more performance.

Dmack World Rally Team driver Ott Tanak was fifth fastest in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC, while Mads Ostberg was 7.2s further behind in his M-Sport-prepared machine.

Ostberg’s French team-mate, Eric Camilli, failed to make it through the first ADAC Rally Deutschland stage after he went off in the closing stages of the 22km test.

wrc.com/germany-ss1



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SS2 Moselland 1 (23.38 km)

Volkswagen’s Andreas Mikkelsen led ADAC Rallye Deutschland at the end of the opening morning after team-mate Sebastien Ogier surrendered his early lead with an overshoot at a hairpin.

Mikkelsen wasn’t the fastest driver in the second stage at Moselland, but the hard work he had done in SS1 meant he jumped to the head of the pack by 2.7s when Ogier faltered.

The Norwegian was a happy man when he saw the time sheets because his second stage performance hadn’t been to his liking. “That was not a really good stage – I did a lot of mistakes,” he admitted.

“This stage was run in 2013 and I didn’t do the rally that year. There is so much note information and you have to be so accurate. Sometimes it’s just too much and I can’t get it all into my head.”

Thierry Neuville also leapt ahead of Ogier in SS2, despite damaging a wheel on his Hyundai i20 WRC when he was a little too keen with the throttle pedal at a hairpin. “It was a tight hairpin and I hit a stone in the road,” he said. “The end of the stage felt nice but the beginning was not good.”



Ogier found himself trailing his Belgian rival by 4.1s at the end of an eventful first morning on Germany’s asphalt roads. But he wasn’t overly concerned that he had dropped two places with an uncharacteristic error.

The reigning world champion said: “I did a mistake at the beginning of the stage when I missed the hairpin and had to go back. But it’s okay. It’s not an easy stage.”

Hyundai’s second i20 WRC ended the morning in fourth place as Dani Sordo got to grips with the conditions. The Spaniard was only 3.5s behind Ogier but felt that he could have been much faster if he hadn’t been having to contend with an unhelpful amount of understeer.

Ott Tanak struggled for grip in Mosseland, a legacy of him not being able to cool his Fiesta’s Dmack tyres on the short road section after the opening stage. He was only sixth fastest in the stage, but retained his fifth place and a 6.6s advantage over St?phane Lefebvre who was running in a privately-entered DS 3 WRC.

M-Sport’s Mads Ostberg dropped to seventh on SS2 after suffering with a number of problems in the stage.

“Many things are not right,” he explained. “The brakes were not working just before the stage, there’s something wrong with the steering on the front and the handbrake is not working. It’s not been easy.”

Hyundai’s Hayden Paddon completed the list of World Rally Cars that were still running at the end of the first morning. The Kiwi, still finessing his skills on his least-favoured stage surface, was eighth – more than a minute off Mikkelsen’s benchmark pace.

click: wrc.com/germany-after-ss2



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SS3 Mittelmosel 2 (22.00 km)




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SS4 Moselland 2 (23.38 km)

Andreas Mikkelsen successfully defended his ADAC Rallye Deutschland lead after the second loop of stages on Friday afternoon.

The Volkswagen Polo R driver leapt into a narrow lead on Friday morning but with the first loop of stages repeated again in the afternoon, the Norwegian needed to be on his best form to hold station.

A fastest time in SS3 was followed by a slightly slower time in SS4, but Mikkelsen’s speed was good enough to fend off a determined attack from Thierry Neuville just behind. He ended the loop 2.9s faster than his Belgian rival.

“On the first stage this afternoon I tried to be just under the limit and I managed it all the way through,” Mikkelsen said. “On the next stage I had to be very patient with the set up I have. Many times I wanted to go on the throttle but I had understeer.”

Neuville, who improved the set up and handling of his Hyundai i20 WRC at midday service, would probably have overtaken Mikkelsen at the top of the standings had it not been for a mistake at one of the tight hairpins on SS4.

He estimated he lost around 5s and with the gap to Mikkelsen standing at 2.9s at the end of the loop, it was a missed opportunity.

“At a tight hairpin right, the handbrake turn was nice but I took a wheel up on the inside of the corner and spun,” he explained. “It was very frustrating.”

S?bastien Ogier enjoyed a trouble-free second loop of stages as his policy to avoid taking risks paid dividends. He was, after all, looking to claw back the time he gave away in the morning when he overshot a hairpin and lost the rally lead.

“I’m driving very clean – no moments,” the Frenchman said. “There are no full risks and I try to drive as fast as I can. But it looks like Andreas is driving quicker than we are.”

Ogier found himself 4.7s shy of his team-mate’s pace after SS4, but with only 1.8s separating him and Neuville just in front, there was all to play for.

Dani Sordo, Ott T?nak, St?phane Lefebvre and Mads ?stberg all held on to the positions they earned during the morning loop of stages, while Hayden Paddon completed the list of World Rally Car runners that were still standing as he completed the afternoon in eighth place.

The Hyundai driver was lucky to get to the end of the second loop, however, after suffering what he described as a “very big moment” on the second run through the Mittelmosel test.



“I was really lucky to get away with it,” he said. “It was a fast left-hand corner in sixth gear. We went on the grass and then went 45 degrees this way and then that way. It was the biggest moment I’ve had. We’re lucky to be here.”

click: wrc.com/germany-after-ss4




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SS5 Super Special Stage Ollmuth (8.21 km)

 
#3 ·
Saturday

SS6 Freisen-Westrich 1 (14.73 km)




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SS7 Bosenberg 1 (14.45 km)

A costly mistake by ADAC Rallye Deutschland leader Andreas Mikkelsen allowed Sebastien Ogier to move to within 0.2s of his team-mate after the opening two stages on Saturday morning.



Mikkelsen took a 4.3s lead into the second day of competition and the odds of him extending his lead looked strong when it emerged that he had chosen to use soft tyres for predicted damp road conditions, whereas Ogier had opted for a mixed choice of two hard and two soft – believing the road would be drier.

It was a move that paid off for Mikkelsen as a fastest time in the first 14.73km stage allowed the Volkswagen driver to extend his lead out to 5.8s.

But Ogier’s charge was given a significant boost when Mikkelsen suddenly lost time in the opening section of the morning’s second stage at Bosenberg.

Mikkelsen dropped 5.6s, meaning the gap to Ogier was reduced to a slender 0.2s heading into the infamous Baumholder military area for three crucial stages later in the morning.

“We went straight in a junction and I had to reverse back out and lost valuable seconds,” Mikkelsen explained. “Okay, that’s life. But we are still in the fight. I tried to push hard to limit the time loss after we made the mistake.”

The race for honours in the WRC 2 category also took a decisive twist in the Bosenberg test. Overnight leader and local favourite Armin Kremer also went straight on in a junction and struggled to find reverse. That cost him 29.3s and, ultimately, allowed fellow Skoda R5 driver Esapekka Lappi to take the lead by a healthy 20.9s.

click: wrc.com/ss7-mikkelsen-error



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SS8 Super Special Stage Arena Panzerplatte 1



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SS9 Super Special Stage Arena Panzerplatte 2



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SS10 Panzerplatte Lang 1

Sebastien Ogier took the lead of ADAC Rallye Deutschland on Saturday morning after a storming drive through the 40km Panzerplatte Lang stage.



The reigning world champion went into day two hunting down his rally-leading team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen. The duo traded seconds on the opening four stages of the day and the lead changed hands twice as both men battled to get the best out of their different tyre choices in changeable road conditions.

But Ogier’s pre-rally prediction that the gruelling Panzerplatte stages in the Baumholder military proving ground would be key to deciding the result of the rally proved to be accurate.

The Frenchman used his VW Polo R WRC to put in a stunning performance on the 40km test and his time was 13.5s faster than the one Mikkelsen posted. That handed Ogier a 13.2s advantage at the top of the leaderboard.

“I think it was hard for the brain this morning because we had changeable conditions all the time and it was very difficult to make the best tyre choice,” he explained.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t make it. It was more wet than expected on the first two stages this morning and we only had two soft tyres. It was the opposite situation in Baumholder; the rain we expected didn’t come and we had two soft tyres again.

“But we did a good job with Julien (Ingrassia) and managed to be very fast with the tyres we had on the car. I’m happy to be in the lead.”

Mikkelsen was wary of Ogier’s impressive record in Baumholder when he talked to wrc.com on Friday night. But he was philosophical in defeat and remained determined to fight to regain his place at the head of the field.

He said: “It was all about the tyre choice for the long stage and I missed it a bit. I went for a cross (soft and hard tyres diagonally opposed to each other) but I didn’t have a good feeling at all with the tyres. I was understeering on one corner and oversteering on the next.

“But that’s life. We now have to push very, very hard this afternoon. If we have a good tyre choice, we will give it everything.”

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville completed the top three at the close of Saturday morning’s competitive action after successfully holding off a fierce attack from his team-mate Dani Sordo.

Only seven crews made it through the Panzerplatte Lang stage on Saturday morning. The stage was stopped when Stephane Lefebvre crashed his privately-entered DS 3 WRC.

click: wrc.com/ss10-ogier-leads



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#4 ·
Sephane Lefebvre and co-driver Gabin Moreau were injured and taken to hospital following an accident on the second day at ADAC Rallye Deutschland.



The French duo’s DS 3 WRC left the asphalt road after 12.4km of the 40km Panzerplatte stage – held in the Baumholder military proving ground – on Saturday morning.

No spectators were involved in the incident.

Lefebvre and Moreau had been lying in sixth position at the time.

The rally was stopped as medical teams attended the scene to provide assistance. Lefebvre’s official Twitter feed later confirmed that both crew members were “taken conscious to the hospital after the crash”.

ADAC Rallye Deutschland organisers issued a statement on Saturday afternoon. It read: “The driver and co-driver of car number 10 were taken to hospital and examined after their accident in SS10.

“The examinations revealed fractures and internal injuries, so they will need to stay for residential treatment. According to the doctors, their injuries are not life threatening.”

An update on Lefevbre's Official Facebook page on Saturday afternoon confirmed that Moreau had undergone an operation in hospital. It read: "Gabin was operated on this afternoon to reduce the fracture to his left ankle.

With their families at their side, Stephane and Gabin wish to thank the rescue teams for their actions, as well as the crews and fans who showed their support."

All of the remaining cars in the field were routed back to the rally service area in Trier after the incident and the Clerk of the Course issued the crews behind Lefebvre and Moreau with a notional time.

Lefebvre completed last year’s ADAC Rallye Deutschland in 10th place, driving a DS 3 WRC, and he won the Junior World Rally Championship category at the event in 2014.

click: wrc.com/lefebvre-accident

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Saturday-Afternoon:
SS11 Freisen-Westrich 2 (14.73 km)




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SS12 Bosenberg 2 (14.45 km)



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SS13 Super Special Stage Arena Panzerplatte 3 (2.87 km)



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SS14 Panzerplatte Lang 2

Sebastien Ogier took a commanding lead into the final leg of ADAC Rallye Deutschland after giving his rivals another lesson in how to drive in the Baumholder military proving ground on Saturday.



The three-time world champion started the second day trailing Volkswagen team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen by 4.3s. But nine stages later – five of which were run on the tricky Baumholder asphalt – Ogier emerged with a 33.4s advantage at the top of the leaderboard.

Previous results show that the Frenchman is a big fan of the Panzerplatte stages – and he didn’t disappoint this time around. After trading seconds with Mikkelsen on the first four tests, he obliterated his rival on the first run through the 40.80km Panzerplatte Lang – a stage that was later halted by Stéphane Lefebre’s accident – by going 13.5s faster.

And the trend continued on the second loop in the afternoon. As Mikkelsen gambled by taking hard tyres for the second run through Panzerplatte Lang, Ogier opted for soft rubber as he expected a wetter road. The Frenchman’s decision proved to be the right one and he duly added another 13.1s to his overall advantage.

“We had a difficult tyre choice for these last two stages but I think we managed the soft tyres pretty well and had a clean stage,” Ogier said. “I’m happy and I hope it’s a comfortable gap for tomorrow. But we have vineyard sections which can be tricky and almost 60kms to race on Sunday. I will have to push.”

After starting the day in the lead of the rally, Mikkelsen’s lack of pace on Saturday meant he ended the day facing the prospect of defending his second place from the hard-charging Hyundai duo of Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville [below] on the final leg.

Sordo leapt past his team-mate on Saturday’s last stage and finished the day only 3.6s behind Mikkelsen. Neuville, meanwhile, was just 0.4s behind his Spanish team-mate in fourth.

Referring to his decision to gamble on hard tyres in the afternoon, Mikkelsen said: “I had to try something different. In some places the car was quite stable but in some areas it was really hard to get confidence with the lack of grip.”

Sordo was thrilled with his day’s work and the fact that he completed a last-gasp move into third place, while Neuville was all too aware how tough the battle between himself, Sordo and Mikkelsen was likely to be on the final day. With a wry smile on his face, Neuville just said: “It’s going to be tight.” That was an understatement.

Finding more and more asphalt confidence, Hayden Paddon completed the day in fifth place after a clean run of stages, while M-Sport World Rally Team driver Mads Østberg guided his Ford Fiesta RS WRC to sixth place after a lacklustre day that was rounded off by the frustration of him not being able to push in the last stage due to his brakes overheating.

With the top six filled by World Rally Cars, the top performers in the R5 category occupied the four remaining points scoring positions. Esapekka Lappi led home fellow Skoda Fabia drivers Pontus Tidemand, Jan Kopecky and Armin Kremer.

click: wrc.com/germany-saturday-wrap




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#5 ·
Sunday:

SS15 Dhrontal 1 (14.79 km)


Dani Sordo continued his impressive march up the ADAC Rallye Deutschland leaderboard at the start of the final day after snatching second place from Andreas Mikkelsen.

The Hyundai driver was the form man in the closing stages on Saturday and he took his speed into Sunday morning. His fastest time on the opening 14.79km stage at Dhrontal enabled him to pass Mikkelsen’s Polo R WRC and move to within 22.1s of rally leader S?bastien Ogier.

But Sordo wasn’t getting carried away. He was determined to focus on his neat and tidy driving, rather than spending too much time analysing the time sheets.

“I enjoyed the stage and I tried to do my best,” the Spaniard said. “Okay, I’m second now. But the most important thing is to drive the car and enjoy the stages. After that, we’ll see what happens.”

Mikkelsen attributed his loss of time – 6.1s slower than Sordo – in Dhrontal to a lack of confidence in his Volkswagen’s brakes.

“I did a good stage but I struggled to get a good feeling with the brakes towards the end,” the Norwegian explained. Referring specifically to his car’s brakes pads, he said: “we switched to something we’re not used to.”

Thierry Neuville’s second fastest time in Dhrontal enabled him to keep the pressure on in the three-way battle for second place and he was only 0.6s behind Mikkelsen heading into the next test at Sauertal.

“I tried to have a good stage, but it was quite sticky in there. I went off at the very last corner and too far on the hairpin two times – but it’s okay,” he said.

Volkswagen’s Sebastien Ogier continued to lead the rally after Sunday’s opening test. But dropping 14.9s reduced his overnight lead from 33.4s to 22.1s.

click: wrc.com/ss15-sordo-second



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SS16 Sauertal 1 (14.84 km)

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville secured his place in the three-way battle for second at ADAC Rallye Deutschland after moving into third position on Sunday morning's final stage.



The Belgian followed his team-mate Dani Sordo’s lead in knocking Andreas Mikkelsen’s VW Polo down another place on the leaderboard after setting the fastest time in the 14.84km Sauertal test.

That meant as the rally edged towards its conclusion, Neuville was only 2.7s behind Sordo who was determined to hold on to his second place, while Mikkelsen was just 1.4s further behind.

“I did a good stage and was pushing quite a lot,” Neuville confirmed. “I could have been more on it in some places but I didn’t feel 100% grip and the car was moving quite a lot. But I’m obviously happy with my time.”

Mikkelsen’s lack of pace on Sunday morning was a mystery, particularly as he’d been the fastest driver in the field and led the rally on the first day. But he was adamant he was doing everything he could to move back up the order and onto the final podium.

He said: “I’m really on the limit everywhere. I think carrying two spare wheels (compared to the one that Neuville and Sordo opted to carry) is holding us back a bit, plus the Hyundai guys are driving really quick. It’s not easy but I’m trying as hard as I can.”

Unfortunately for the Norwegian, he lost an opportunity to strike back at his rivals ahead when the penultimate stage of the day at Dhrontal was cancelled on Sunday morning due to spectators being in a restricted zone.

With Sebastien Ogier enjoying a 20.3s advantage at the head of the field, the fierce battle for runner up spot would therefore go down to the rally-ending Power Stage at Sauertal, where extra championship points were also up for grabs.

click: wrc.com/ss16-neuville-moves-up



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SS17 Dhrontal 2 (14.79 km)



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SS18 Sauertal 2 ( PowerStage) (14.84 km)

Breaking News


Volkswagen’s Sebastien Ogier returned to rally-winning form on Sunday afternoon as he won ADAC Rallye Deutschland.

The Frenchman snatched the lead of this season’s first all-asphalt rally from team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen on day two with a string of stunning performances in the Baumholder military proving ground stages and managed his lead from there on in to win by 20.3.

The fight for second place was a three-way battle between the Hyundai pair of Dani Sordo, Thierry Neuville and Mikkelsen on the final leg.

Only 4.1s separated the trio entering the rally-ending Power Stage, but it was Sordo who emerged with runners up spot in the bag at the end.

He was slower than Neuville in the Power Stage – but did enough to hold on to his second place by a mere 0.1s. Mikkelsen had to settle for fourth.

Neuville won the Power Stage to claim three bonus championship points, while Jari-Matti Latvala took two points for second in his VW and Ogier secured the final point that was up for grabs.



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Rnd 10 - Rally China Sept8-11

Due to Weather cancelled !

click: wrc.com/rally-china

so then we wait until the Next Rnd 11 - Rally France (Tour de Corse) Sept 29-Oct2



Official website: tourdecorse.com

Listen Live: wrc.com/live_popup_radio

WRC+ : Live Stages/Live Maps/Onboard Action/Full Highlights plus.wrc.com/


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