Thierry Neuville roared to the top of the leaderboard at the Central European Rally on Friday, overtaking Sébastien Ogier to keep his FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) title hopes alive.
Behind the wheel of his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID, Neuville ended the day with a slim 6.4-second lead over Ogier’s Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 and a 7.8-second gap to his Hyundai teammate Ott Tänak. The trio blazed through challenging asphalt stages, weaving from the Czech Republic back toward the service park in Bad Griesbach, Germany.
Ogier, who led after Thursday’s opening stages, slipped behind Neuville during Friday’s third test at Šumavské Hoštice. A couple of wide moments on greasy, leaf-covered roads proved costly for the eight-time world champ. “I was just not fast enough,” Ogier admitted, finishing the day chasing Neuville in second.
Neuville inches closer to elusive WRC title
Neuville, partnered with co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe, is now one step closer to his long-awaited maiden world title. To seal the crown at this penultimate round, he needs to outscore Tänak by two points while conceding no more than 10 points to Ogier and 15 to Elfyn Evans.
“I’m happy to have made it through today,” Neuville said. “It’s easy to make mistakes on roads like these, so the goal was just to reach the finish. The last stage was especially greasy, so we played it safe.”
Hyundai’s hopes remain high with two cars in the top three, but there was drama for the team as Andreas Mikkelsen crashed his i20 N on SS5. The Norwegian understeered wide on a slick left-hander, hitting fenceposts and causing significant damage.
Evans and Katsuta in the mix
Just 15.1 seconds cover the top four heading into Saturday. Evans sits fourth, 7.3 seconds behind Tänak, claiming one stage win along the way. Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta trails him in fifth, 23.5 seconds further back, with a stage win of his own.
Meanwhile, Sami Pajari’s first Toyota Rally1 run on asphalt had its share of challenges. A hybrid issue slowed him down, but he held on to secure sixth place alongside co-driver Enni Mälkönen. Adrien Fourmaux also struggled with hybrid troubles, combined with a shaky setup, leaving him seventh at the end of the day.
Fourmaux’s teammate, Grégoire Munster, settled into eighth in the M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID. In WRC2, Nikolay Gryazin (Citroën C3) leads the charge, with Oliver Solberg (Škoda Fabia RS) rounding out the top 10, though Solberg isn’t registered for WRC2 points.
Saturday’s six stages await
The rally continues Saturday with six more demanding stages across Germany and Austria, covering 123.46 kilometres of intense competition. With the WRC title battle heating up and just seconds separating the leaders, every corner could make the difference.
Overall Standings after SS8
01: T. Neuville / M. Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) – 1h 04m 40.0s
02: S. Ogier/ V. Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) + 6.4s
03: O. Tänak / M. Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) + 7.8s
04: E. Evans / S. Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) + 15.1s
05: T. Katsuta / A. Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) + 38.6s
06: S. Pajari / E. Mälkönen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) + 1m 28.2s
07: A. Fourmaux / A. Coria (Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID) + 1m 33.4s
08: G. Munster / L. Louka (Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID) + 2m 27.4s
09: N. Gryazin / K. Aleksandrov (Citroën C3 Rally2) + 3m 53.3s
10: O. Solberg / E. Edmondson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) + 3m 56.4s