Photo Credit: M-Sport After eight rallies so far in 2016, the teams and drivers of the World Rally Championship will get their first proper taste of tarmac on round 9 of the championship, ADAC Rallye Deutschland.
Rally Germany, often likened to three tarmac rallies in one, is one of the toughest tests in the WRC calendar, taking in stages in the military ranges with the deadly hinkelsteins the country roads through the vineyards and the main, wide tarmac roads. Last year, after suffering a torrid time on their home event for two consecutive years, VW came up trumps with a 1-2-3 led by Sebastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala. However, the German marque have been less dominant than in recent years, having only won 50% of the rallies so far this year, far less than in 2013, 14 and 15. But what has held Ogier in particular back this year, road positioning, will have little to zero effect on the tarmac of Germany, so you'd be pretty brave to bet against Ogier notching up a third Germany win, having not a won a rally since February's Rally Sweden. Latvala and Mikkelsen will be quick too, with both drivers having won on the black stuff in the past. Over at Hyundai, they may well be quietly confident of further rattling VW and Jost Capito's cage. Both Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo are former winners of Rallye Deutschland, and the new-generation i20 has already claimed 2 victories this year already. Neuville's return to form has come just at the right time, and Sordo is a renowned tarmac expert, and after missing Finland through injury will be more than keen to make amends. Hyundai's third driver Hayden Paddon however may struggle this weekend as he is well known for preferring the feeling of gravel stages beneath his i20. Having said that, the Kiwi is a consummate professional and lightning quick so will do everything to improve his tarmac driving and may well be a dark horse. As will Frenchman Eric Camilli. The Frenchman has limited experience in the WRC, but having grown up driving on French tarmac roads, tarmac is a surface he is more comfortable with. We are yet to see what Eric can do on the sealed surface, so it shall be intriguing to watch. On the other side of the M-Sport garage, Mads Ostberg is not a strong tarmac driver in comparison with his peers. The Norwegian has had a slightly disappointing season to date, so will need to do all he can to get in the top 5 as pressure from team principal Malcolm Wilson inevitably mounts. Citroen and the Abu Dhabi Total WRT will be represented by Stephane Lefebvre, at a very convenient time for the French driver. After Craig Breen's stunning performance at Rally Finland where he claimed a maiden WRC stage win and podium, Lefebvre may need to take a leaf out of Kris Meeke's book when he was vying for a factory Citroen seat and just go for hell for leather and prove his pace. Breen and Lefebvre are both likely candidates to partner Meeke, so Lefebvre has to prove what he has in Germany. Rally Germany is a favourite of the fans and the crews alike, and is always exciting to see who will perform well on the tarmac. I can't quite look past a determined Ogier winning this one though.
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January 2018
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