by R. Madorran – photo: erc.com | The German Rally started amid numerous criticisms and ended up being a turning point which changed the current order of the WCR. Thierry Neuville’s departure on Saturday set off the chain of events that turned the competition around. The new leader is now the always steady Sebastien Ogier (with only two victories so far but always at the top). Ott Tänak, the winner of the German Rally, closes in from behind imposing himself as the third candidate to take the championship home.

This is what happened. The German Rally was initially criticised by pilots and teams alike. “They have completely change its nature”, “It was one of the big ones but now it is really boring” or “What are all these changes for?” were just some of the comments that were coming in before the race. The organisation, understandably, was proposing a circuit aimed to attract a greater number of people but which meant having to move it out of Trier, its usual host city, and modifying some of its sections in the process, all of which has proved very unpopular.

Despite this initial wariness, the race didn’t disappoint anyone. Up until the last stretch, the new circuit became the backdrop of an intense fight for the podium between Ott Tänak and Andreas Mikkelsen.

The change

The German Rally started with Thierry Neuville as leader of the general classification despite being level on points with Sebastian Ogier. Far down, at 41 points of distance was the young Ott Tänak. The race has seen a leadership change with Ogier now ahead, Neuville second and Tänak still third but at just 16 points of the second and 33 of the leader.

How is it possible that Sebastien Ogier is the WRC leader having only won two rallies from a total of ten? What is it secret?. We think it is his consistency. Neuville on the other hand still drags today his not so glorious championship beginnings despite having won three rallies in total

The fight for victory

Ott Tänak and Andreas Mikkelsen featured in the greatest fight of the Rally from the outset. Tänak dominated for the whole of the race but Mikkelsen didn’t make his life easy. The first test took place on Thursday at the superspecial Saarbrücken, a short stretch of two kilometres where the experienced Jan Kopecky, a WRC2 Czech pilot, surprised everyone with his victory.

On Friday the rally started with a superspecial win by the Spanish pilot Dani Sordo. Unfortunately he went off track on the next race which meant he couldn’t opt for the podium. A real shame as he continued to show off his skill by later winning two tests in a row. That same Friday Neuville, Ogier, Tänak and Mikkelsen started to stand out, the two latter positioning themselves first and second in the classification before the final battle.

The way was cleared for both on Saturday after the incident which forced Neuville to retire for good from the German Rally and of course losing the WRC leadership. The duel Tänak – Mikkelsen continued until Sunday when Tänak managed a risk free race while keeping his rival at bay at all times. It all ended up with the Estonian pilot’s victory and with second place for Mikkelsen after a great weekend for both.

Video Highlights