WRC Rally Germany: Ott Tanak leads as Thierry Neuville falls back
Ott Tanak maintained his Rally Germany cushion over Sebastien Ogier on Saturday morning, as World Rally Championship leader Thierry Neuville fell to fourth
Though Ogier trimmed Toyota driver Tanak's advantage to 10.6 seconds on the short version of the Panzerplatte military range stage that opened the day, Tanak was quicker on the following three stages and is now 14.1s in front.
The better news for Ogier is that his main WRC title rival Neuville has struggled.
Running with a less-than-ideal differential after an oil leak forced a gearbox change on Friday, Neuville was off the pace all morning and coming under increasing threat from a large pack of cars behind.
His Hyundai team-mate Dani Sordo briefly emerged as his main challenger by winning the long Panzerplatte stage and jumping to fourth, before the discomfort that Sordo felt on the Friday vineyard stages returned when the route left the military ranges for the rest of the morning.
Latvala benefited, and a strong run on the loop-closing Romerstrasse stage took him both past Sordo and ahead of Neuville by just 0.1s into third place.
Sordo is only 1.8s behind Neuville in fifth.
Elfyn Evans had finished Friday in fourth place but his speed faded on Saturday morning and he slipped back to seventh before going off the road on Romerstrasse and parking with damage to his M-Sport Ford.
After losing time on Panzerplatte, Esapekka Lappi was fastest on the Freisen stage and is back on the tail of the podium battle in sixth.
Craig Breen, the Romerstrasse pacesetter, is also closing on this group, having dropped Friday rival Andreas Mikkelsen as the Norwegian grappled with the comprehensive driving style change he feels he needs to get on top of the Hyundai.
Mikkelsen is drifting back towards ninth-placed Teemu Suninen, who was pulling away from Mads Ostberg before the Citroen driver struck back with a stronger time on the final stage of the loop.
Leading positions after SS11
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ott Tanak, M.Jarveoja | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota | 1h41m23.8s |
| 2 | Sebastien Ogier, J.Ingrassia | M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford | 14.1s |
| 3 | Jari-Matti Latvala, M.Anttila | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota | 41.8s |
| 4 | Thierry Neuville, N.Gilsoul | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai | 41.9s |
| 5 | Dani Sordo, C.del Barrio | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai | 43.7s |
| 6 | Esapekka Lappi, J.Ferm | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota | 49.8s |
| 7 | Craig Breen, S.Martin | Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT | Citroen | 1m00.8s |
| 8 | Andreas Mikkelsen, A.Jager | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai | 1m24.6s |
| 9 | Teemu Suninen, M.Markkula | M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford | 1m42.4s |
| 10 | Mads Ostberg, T.Eriksen | Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT | Citroen | 1m49.0s |
WRC Rally Germany: Ott Tanak stretches lead over Sebastien Ogier
WRC Rally Germany: Sebastien Ogier tumbles down order with puncture
Why WRC's Safari tour is more than just a rally
OPINION: A source of national pride in Kenya, the Safari Rally is also a sporting, cultural and economic phenomenon. And as last weekend's World Rally Championship round reminded us, it's a key driver in establishing Africa’s place in world motorsport
How Rovanpera tamed a wild Safari Rally
The Safari Rally acted as a brutal test of driver and car resolve as multiple retirements opened the path for a historic Toyota 1-2-3-4 triumph, headed by star Kalle Rovanpera. But keeping things clean was only half of the challenge, as a well-timed charge when conditions worsened allowed the Finn to take control
How Tanak turned the tables to deliver Hyundai a timely WRC triumph
The 2019 champion has been a bit-part player recently, but Ott Tanak ended a 15-month drought in fine style with a dominant win in Sardinia. On a weekend when championship leader Kalle Rovanpera struggled with cleaning the road, his Hyundai rival has made his belated arrival into the title race and given cause for those predicting a walkover from the Toyota star to pause
How Rovanpera overcame rallying royalty in Portugal to extend his WRC lead
Although the Rally Portugal entry list featured World Rally Championship royalty in Sebastiens Loeb and Ogier, victory was secured by rallying's rising star in Kalle Rovanpera. Here's the story of his 2022 hat-trick, as his key rivals faltered among the gravel and asphalt ahead of them
The former WRC star playing the unsung hero role for Rovanpera
Kalle Rovanpera’s 2022 World Rally Championship displays have been spectacular, with the Toyota driver benefitting from a secret weapon in his crew to win two of the opening three rallies. But while the former challenger to Sebastien Loeb won’t take credit for his fellow Finn's performances, a key bond has been formed which could prove key to Rovanpera’s title charge
How Rovanpera's Croatia turnaround sent a message to his WRC rivals
After a dominating Rally Croatia, a wrong tyre choice on the final day looked to have undone all Kalle Rovanpera's hard work and left him with a mountain to climb heading into the power stage. That he emerged the winner all the same has surely quelled any lingering doubts that the Finn is the man to beat in the 2022 WRC
How M-Sport's faith in Loubet led to a WRC reprieve after a dismal 2021
It's fair to say 2021 was a year to forget for Pierre-Louis Loubet. A maiden full World Rally Championship season offered hope but soon turned into a nightmare that ended in hospital, after being hit by a car in a road traffic accident. Now handed a lifeline by M-Sport, the Frenchman is desperate to rebuild his career
Why WRC mechanics deserve more respect
The drivers get the glare of attention, but it’s the mechanics who are key to the operation of any World Rally Championship car. Autosport donned a set of overalls and joined M-Sport on a Belgian national rally event to get an inside look into the trials and tribulations of a rally mechanic