Photo Credit: M-Sport Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja bagged their second WRC career victory on the tricky sealed surface challenge of ADAC Rallye Deutschland ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jaeger and Sebastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia.
The event moved west from Trier to Bostalsee and seemingly the form book was left behind in the ancient city. Torrential rain made conditions treacherous at best on Friday's opening leg, with Dani Sordo, Andreas Mikkelsen and then Ott Tanak taking the rally lead. Once inheriting the advantage, Tanak would never look back to claim a surprise and emphatic victory on the tenth round of the World Rally Championship. The Estonian had it all under control. His performance bagged M-Sport their first ever win on the German round of the championship and underlines him as a serious championship threat in the future and present with a win on gravel and now tarmac. The result moves him to within 16 points of second place Thierry Neuville and 33 off his team mate Sebastien Ogier. This also helped M-Sport extend their gap in the manufacturers standings to 64 points. Mikkelsen's second place for Citroen Racing was equally as impressive. The Norwegian was well in the mix before a spin and a stall on Saturday, and on just his third rally with the French team, took the C3 WRC's second podium finish. Former team mate Sebastien Ogier came third to re-open his championship lead. The talk pre-event was all about the title fight between Ogier and Thierry Neuville. The battling duo headed to Germany level on points, but a third place finish and a further two Power Stages points to boot let the defending champion establish a 17 point lead with just three rallies in Spain, the United Kingdom and Australia to come. Neuville was dealt a cruel blow. On Saturday's opening test around the Panzerplatte spectator test, an abrasive cut wrecked the rear left suspension on his Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, leaving the wheel dragging at a 45 degree angle and forcing his retirement. The Belgian restarted on Sunday under Rally2 with the aim of securing Power Stage points, but could only manage sixth fastest meaning he left his home event empty handed. He now has it all to do in the remaining rallies to topple the master from his perch. 14 seconds was all that separated the fourth, fifth and sixth placed drivers in Germany with Juho Hanninen finishing ahead of Craig Breen and Elfyn Evans. The Finn clearly got the memo from Toyota Gazoo Racing and the worldwide press that he needed to up his game, with an incredible performance in Germany. Hot off the back of his maiden WRC podium at home in Finland, Hanninen was more impressive here. Winning the mammoth Panzerplatte test the first time round, he overcame a broken damper to then re-haul Elfyn Evans for fourth spot. Craig Breen deposed Evans in the final test to grab his usual position of fifth, after struggling in the wet conditions on Friday. Evans had a slightly disappointing event for his now high standards. Dan Barritt's door was flapping open in Panzerplatte which hampered him, as did his DMACK rubber which wasn't quite up to scratch on the final leg. Jari-Matti Latvala took seventh on another weekend that promised much more, with yet another electrical issue occurring aboard his Yaris WRC. In Germany it wasn't as serious as in Poland or Finland, allowing the Finn to continue and seal a points finish. Enduring another tough weekend were Hayden Paddon and Seb Marshall. Asphalt has never been the Kiwi's happiest hunting ground, but punctures all but ruined any chance of a decent result. The extended break between Germany and the next round in Spain will give Paddon the chance to re-set and hopefully come back stronger. Armin Kremer, trying out a 2017 spec Fiesta RS WRC, finished ninth ahead of WRC2 winner Eric Camilli in an R5 Fiesta. Pontus Tidemand claimed third in the category behind Skoda Motorsport stable mate Jan Kopekcy to clinch the WRC2 title with three rounds remaining. The Swede has been dominant in his Fabia R5 this year, and will be hoping his crushing performances, including beating Andreas Mikkelsen in a straight fight, will be enough to secure him a 2018 WRC seat. But he faces stiff competition for one of those.. When was the last time Kris Meeke wasn't mentioned this far down in one of my This Is Rally reviews? The honest answer: I can't remember. And I genuinely don't think the Ulsterman has had a weekend as bad as this one. His event was over on Thursday evening when on the tricky superspecial city stage, he clipped a concrete barrier and wrecked his steering. He retired a second time on Saturday with mechanical issues and wouldn't restart on Sunday. Dani Sordo had the pace to win the event he won four years ago, leading the rally and winning the Power Stage to prove it. But he outbraked himself on Friday morning and ended up 40m from the road in a bank. Esapekka Lappi meanwhile couldn't repeat his Finland heroics, clipping a wall and retiring from Friday's action. With ten rounds gone and three remaining, the 2017 title race continues to excite. Touted as a clash of the titans between Ogier and Neuville yes, but this is becomingly increasingly inaccurate. Tanak's points haul and performance makes him a real threat and outside bet, but M-Sport's number two is relying on trouble befalling the others. And don't forget if Latvala's Toyota hadn't packed up in Poland and Finland he would have been right there too. Isn't it great to have such a fiercely competitive, and better still, genuinely unpredictable championship...?
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January 2018
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