Ott Tanak, after leading Ford to Germany twelve months ago, also repeated the lead of Toyota, scoring an amazing double after the success in Finland. The Estonian dominated the rally staged on the German asphalt (first claim for the Japanese home on this ground) and ended with almost 40 seconds ahead of Thierry Neuville, second and now to +23 over Sebastian Ogier. The French climbed back to the fourth final position and won the power stage leaving only two points in favor of the Hyundai rider in this round marked by yesterday's puncture.
Neuville and Ogier were also favored by k.o. Sordo and Lattvala, who were fighting for the second position, less than a second away at the end of Saturday. First special today (the sixteenth overall) fatal for both. Hyundai's Spaniard ended up in a vineyard breaking the windshield and ruining his i20's radiator. The Finn of Toyota has had to surrender to the failure of the exchange.
Pos Driver Team Gap
1 Ott Tanak Toyota 3h03m36.9s
2 Thierry Neuville Hyundai +39.2s
3 Esapekka Lappi Toyota +1m00.9s
4 Sebastien Ogier Ford +1m34.5s
5 Teemu Suninen Ford +2m02.9s
6 Andreas Mikkelsen Hyundai +2m13.8s
7 Craig Breen Citroen +2m39.1s
8 Marijan Griebel Citroen +10m41.2s
9 Jan Kopecky Skoda +13m12.8s
10 Kalle Rovanpera Skoda +13m16.6s