1-2-3 glory for Toyota/Michelin in Germany

Ott Tänak claimed a third straight victory in Germany where he was joined on the Rallye Deutschland podium by Toyota/Michelin team-mates Kris Meeke and Jari-Matti Latvala. Michelin scooped the top prize in WRC2 Pro, too, in association with Skoda Motorsport.

True to tradition, the outcome of this year’s Rallye Deutschland was settled more or less by the classic 41-kilometre, part-concrete/part-asphalt Panzerplatte stage which scuppered the challenges of both Thierry Neuville (Hyundai/Michelin), who was battling for the lead at the time, and six-time world champion Sébastien Ogier (Citroën/Michelin).

Toyota Yaris WRC drivers were fastest on 11 of the week’s 19 stages, with Tänak claiming eight of those on his way to his fifth victory of the season.The Estonian’s team-mates Meeke and Latvala made it an all Toyota podium, the Japanese make’s first one-two-three finish in world class rallying after the 10 one-twos and two one-two-three-four results it secured between 1982 and 2018.

Hyundai/Michelin’s Neuville (4th) and Sordo (5th) were the only two drivers who succeeded in contesting Toyota’s supremacy, while Esapekka Lappi and Ogier ended up sixth and eighth for Citroën/Michelin.

Tyre choices were simplified by the bright, hot summer weather, with Michelin’s partners opting for the hard-compound H5 version of the Pilot Sport from start to finish for the mixed-profile stages. The steep, narrow Moselle Valley vineyard tests on Friday and Sunday effectively called for steering precision and fast warm-up performance, while Saturday morning’s visit to the Saarland region’s flowing country lanes called for lateral and longitudinal grip, and Saturday afternoon’s Panzerplatte – the most abrasive stage of the season – placed the accent on strength, durability and consistency. Skoda/Michelin finished on top again in the WRC2 Pro battle with Jan Kopecky whose mission was facilitated by the small mistakes made by his team-mate Kalle Rovanperä. Eric Camilli was second in the new Ford Fiesta R5/Michelin.WRC action will resume on September 12-15 with Round 11 in Turkey.

2019 ADAC Rallye Deutschland – final positions:1. Tänak-Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC), 3h15min29s82. Meeke-Marshall (Toyota Yaris WRC), +20s83. Latvala-Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC), +36s4. Neuville-Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC), +58s55. Sordo-Del Barrio (Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC), +1min16s66. Mikkelsen-Jaeger (Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC), 1min46s27. Ogier-Ingrassia (Citroën C3 WRC), +1min56s38. Lappi-Ferm (Citroën C3 WRC), +2min02s29. Greensmith-Edmonson (Ford Fiesta RS WRC), +6min22s210. Katsuta-Barritt (Toyota Yaris WRC), +8min19s2…