WRC Rally Germany: Ogier pulls away from Latvala as VW dominates
Sebastien Ogier increased his Rally Germany lead as he outpaced Volkswagen team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala on four of Saturday morning's five stages

Ogier and Latvala alternated fastest times on the first two stages of the morning, but when the group arrived at the two short Arena Panzerplatte tests, Ogier boosted his lead by 2.7 seconds over just 3.56 miles of competition.
The monster 23.8-mile Panzerplatte Long stage featured a brilliant Ogier time, 6.8s quicker than Latvala - extending the gap to 18.5s overall.
VW is searching for its first home win in Germany but holds a 1-2-3 for the time being, with Andreas Mikkelsen maintaining a steady pace in third.
In the VWs' wake, asphalt specialist Dani Sordo moved up into fourth on the final stage of the morning, at the expense of Hyundai team-mate Thierry Neuville.
Sordo is 35.6s behind Mikkelsen heading into the afternoon loop.
Neuville struggled with understeer on the Panzerplatte long test, leaving him fifth ahead of Elfyn Evans - who went second quickest on the morning's first stage, Grafschaft.
Ott Tanak has struggled to match Evans's pace on Saturday so far and lies seventh ahead of Mads Ostberg, Hayden Paddon and Stephane Lefebvre.
After a difficult afternoon on Friday, Lefebvre went second quickest on SS12, in what is turning out to be a very strong World Rally Car debut in an extra Citroen.
Jan Kopecky continues to lead WRC2 in his Skoda Fabia R5, although his record of winning every stage so far was ended on SS11 by Esapekka Lappi, who rejoined under Rally2 after crashing out on Friday morning.
Craig Breen continues to hold second in WRC2 in his Peugeot.
AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live coverage from Rally Germany resumes at 2.30pm UK time for the afternoon stages
LEADING POSITIONS AFTER SS13:
-
WRC Germany: Ogier builds lead over Volkswagen team-mate Latvala
WRC Rally Germany: Dominant Ogier leaves Latvala puzzled

Latest news
Video: Follow Red Bull's 2023 F1 launch live from New York
The Red Bull Formula 1 team is launching its 2023 season live from New York, with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez presenting the new livery for the upcoming campaign.
Why Ford can offer Red Bull what Porsche could not in F1
With Ford's confirmation of a partnership with Red Bull Powertrains imminent, it gives the Milton Keynes squad more pulling power in the American market. It's one of the key aspects the Detroit marque can offer which Porsche, expected to tie up with Red Bull before the deal fell through, could not
Ford confirms Formula 1 return for 2026
American car giant Ford has officially confirmed its return to Formula 1 in 2026, ahead of Red Bull's car launch in New York.
The design changes teams face as F1 launch season begins
Formula 1 fans are eagerly waiting to see how much of the Red Bull RB19 being unveiled in New York City later on Friday is actually new.
Why Monte Carlo success could spark another past master’s WRC revival
Some 39 years on from his Monte Carlo Rally debut, World Rally Championship legend Francois Delecour continues to pick up silverware. Proving that age is purely a number, the 60-year-old's desire to compete against the WRC’s latest young talents could be the start of a new chapter in the Frenchman’s storied career
How fired-up Ogier became the WRC's ultimate Monte master
He may only be contesting a part-time campaign in the World Rally Championship these days, but Sebastien Ogier underlined that he's lost none of his speed in the 2023 season opener. Storming to yet another victory on the Monte Carlo Rally, the eight-time world champion rewrote the history books again as Toyota served notice of its intentions with a crushing 1-2
How Lancia pulled off its famous Monte Carlo giantkilling
Audi should have been invincible in the snowy conditions that typically greeted the World Rally Championship paddock in Monte Carlo. But unexpectedly warm weather for the 1983 season opener, combined with some left-field thinking from the Lancia crew turned the tables. Forty years on, team boss Cesare Fiorio reflects on a smash and grab
Why M-Sport has pinned all its efforts on a WRC reunion
M-Sport had a disastrous 2022 with its Rally1 Ford Pumas following Sebastien Loeb’s first-time-out win on the Monte. But now things are looking up with 2019 world champion Ott Tanak leading its attack, and the Cumbrian operation has optimism that it can challenge for a first title since Sebastien Ogier's departure at the end of 2018
The contenders seeking to take Rovanpera's WRC crown
As Kalle Rovanpera begins his World Rally Championship title defence in Monte Carlo, the Finn knows he has a target on his back. But who is best placed to knock the Toyota ace off his perch?
Why Rovanpera is anticipating a fight to defend his WRC title
Question: what could be harder than becoming the youngest-ever World Rally champion? Answer: becoming the youngest-ever two-time World Rally champion. That's quite the challenge facing Toyota's Kalle Rovanpera in 2022, particularly against rejuvenated opposition in the second year of the WRC's hybrid regulations
From F1 to WRC: Why Hyundai's new boss could be an inspired signing
OPINION: New Hyundai WRC team boss Cyril Abiteboul admits he’s got a lot to learn as he leads the marque's efforts to dethrone Toyota. But could his Formula 1 experience and evident strengths mean he turns out to be an inspired choice?
The ultimate rally car project the WRC is glad COVID killed
Toyota was unstoppable in the 2021 World Rally Championship, with an excellent 75% strike rate from 12 rallies. But in a scary proposition for its rivals, the Japanese marque had built a car for the final year of the previous regulations set which it believes was much faster and could feasibly have crushed the opposition completely. Here the story of its mothballed world-beater
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.