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Onto the final day then and with 54km’s over the four stages what would the outcome be at the end of the eighteenth stage? Adrien and Alex returned to the action and would open the road.

First stage then of the day, SS15 Am Hochwald 1 – 12.17 km and we had a change for the lead as Adrien was fastest from Elfyn and Takamoto. There was drama for Seb and even more for his teammate Sami. The Frenchman slid off the road and after a little detour rejoined the road and completed the stage with the seventh fastest time. However, for Sami, there was even more drama, as he slid wide, and the front of the Yaris dug in and made the car roll a few times. He was out for the rest of the day. A big shame after a very accomplished first drive on asphalt in the Yaris Rally1. In terms of the lead change, Ott was now in the lead ahead of Seb by just 1.9 seconds and Elfyn a further 5.3 seconds back.

Onto SS16 Passauer Land 1 – 14.87 km Takamoto was fastest from Seb and Ott in this one. The Frenchman closed the gap a little in this one to Ott with the Estonians lead just 1.5 with two stages left.

Next up was SS17 Am Hochwald 2 – 12.17 km and it was a third different stage winner as Elfyn won this one from Ott and Takamoto. However, there was drama again for Toyota as Seb lost the rear of his Yaris and ended up spinning and then collided head on with a telegraph pole. There was large damage to caused and live images showed Seb out of the car.

The final stage then SS18 Passauer Land 2[Power Stage] – 14.87 km and Takamoto set the benchmark which no-one could beat. The rest of the power stage points went to Andreas, Elfyn, Thierry and Adrien. Ott and Martin took their second win of the year and twenty-first of their career. This also meant that they had outscored their teammates and championship rivals and confirmation that the driver’s world championship will be taken by a Hyundai crew.

Let’s take a look at the final finishing positions and hear from the drivers.

Final Classification – Central European Rally

Hyundai Motorsport

Ott Tänak

“The rally was really intense – demanding from the get-go, with four drivers so close together and never more than ten seconds apart. The conditions were never easy, and although today was the best weather wise yet it was still challenging and unpredictable. I fought very hard with Seb and really tried to push today to secure the win. There is still hope for our drivers’ championship campaign but the manufacturers’ standings is very close with Toyota, so we have a big fight ahead of us in Japan.”

Thierry Neuville

“Overall, it has been a good weekend. Obviously, we came here with the hopes of winning the drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles in Germany, and a lot of supporters came down to line the stages to live an incredible moment with us, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be. Nevertheless, it was a good operation for the team, and we only lost two points to Toyota. Going to Rally Japan with 225 points is a comfortable lead, but we still need a trouble-free rally and a reliable car, especially on Sunday, to get through and hopefully secure the well-deserved titles.”

Andreas Mikkelsen

“Result wise, this is not what we expected from this weekend. We had a crash on Friday, but otherwise there are a lot of positives to take from Central European Rally as well. Our speed overall when we were pushing has been close to the front, and the Power Stage was definitely the highlight. It’s a big step forward since Croatia; our feeling with the car was completely different, I felt at one with the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid on tarmac and really enjoyed driving it.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“It’s not been a bad weekend for us. Together with Scott we come away as the crew that scored the most points and we have to be somewhat satisfied about that and it’s good for the team. Maybe we were not always setting the stage times alight, but we had some strong moments, and it was quite a consistent weekend. We were missing a little bit here and there but we’re here at the end in second place and we can be reasonably happy with that. In terms of manufacturers’ points we took a little hit today unfortunately, but it wasn’t bad on that side so at least we’re still in the game and it’s all open for Rally Japan.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“I want to say a huge thanks to the team for the incredible support they gave me through some difficult moments in the last two months. It’s been a very tough season for myself, so I felt a lot of pressure to do a good job here, but we are able to do it with full points on Super Sunday and the Power Stage as well as fourth overall. I was really enjoying the driving and the feeling in the car, and I’m really happy to finish the rally with this result. Of course, we have still one rally to go at Rally Japan and I will try to do my best there together with the team. We never give up and we keep pushing.”

Sébastien Ogier

“I feel really very sorry for the team for what happened today. In this penultimate stage the first corner going under the trees was much muddier than I anticipated, and I just understeered wide and hit the tree on the outside. The route note, crews did not have the chance to pass through this stage before us so I didn’t have the information in my notes, but this is no excuse because I’m behind the wheel and the other drivers didn’t make the same mistake. Right now, I feel very disappointed, especially for the team because it could have been a strong weekend for us. It’s been three rallies in a row where we clearly have the speed but not the result at the end. Thanks to Elfyn and Taka we still have a chance in the championship at Rally Japan and we will try our best again there.”

Sami Pajari

“In the first stage today, I went a bit wide on one corner and we were maybe a bit unlucky to roll so easily, but it was my mistake. It’s a pity and I’m sorry for the team. I just need to learn from this, understand what happened and be better in the future. Up to then, the rally had been really nice for us, every day was really clean, and there was clear development through the weekend. I got quite a nice feeling with the car and did some decent stage times, and most importantly we learned a lot. These three rallies in the Rally1 car have been really amazing, a dream come true for me, and I’ve enjoyed it a lot. Now I look forward to doing my best at Rally Japan in WRC2.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Grégoire Munster

“A tricky weekend with the weather conditions, and the different types of stages, but all in all we didn’t do too badly. We improved the set-up of the car in different conditions, and we worked a lot towards Japan as well, so it’s all positive things. A top-five result, at the end, which equals our top-five result in Sardinia, makes it quite a positive weekend overall.”

William Creighton

“A tricky rally, so I’m glad we didn’t have any major issues and have gained the experience. It’s been amazing to compete in my first WRC2 season, I have learnt a lot! Thank you to the MI Rally Academy, M-Sport and everyone else for making it possible.”

Jourdan Serderidis

“We went to CER on an impulse. Very limited preparation, no hybrid… we hoped for a cool weekend and a Top 20 finish. Actually, it was not exactly cool, especially in technique, but we enjoyed a lot Saturday and Sunday. And we achieved the target. Fantastic ambiance inside the team. It will be full of good memories…!”

Adrien Fourmaux

“Just a difficult Friday and Saturday with some technical issues, it’s not the result we would expect after winning the rally last year in the RC2 category. The good point is that after we fixed the car on Saturday evening, we clinched the first fastest time of the day and third overall on Super Sunday, with one extra point for the Power Stage. So at least we showed some good pace on the Sunday.”

Summary

Well, we had a very exciting and dramatic rally with a number of different leaders. Thierry led early on before he went off the road on Saturday, then Ott and Seb both had their times as leaders before the Frenchman’s unusual mistake.

The Estonian duo took a well-deserved victory, bringing them back into championship contention. Now the gap is a not insignificant twenty-five points and this would need Thierry and Martijn to suffer quite a bad result at the final round for the 2019 world champions to take their second title.

Elfyn and Scott showed again why they should always be considered as one of the best crews in the championship with a great fight at the front. The Welshman is always really hard on himself and yet does not always give himself credit with how good he is. With the result he took here, he’s taken third in the championship standings again.

Thierry and Martijn could have taken the title this weekend, but a mistake put them out of the lead meaning that the title will be decided in Japan, late November. They still have one hand on the trophy. Let’s see what happens next month.

2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 12

2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 12

One final round remains then, Rally Japan from the 21^st to the 24^th of November.

The second full day of action would see the crews tackle 123km’s over six stages. Thierry held the overnight lead from Seb and Ott and less than eight seconds covered the top three, with Elfyn a further 7.3 seconds back in fourth.

First up was SS9 Granit und Wald 1 – 20.05 km and there was drama for Adrien and Alex as their Puma went off the road but still completed the stage. They had a problem with part of the transmission which had caused their off. At the front, Ott was fastest from Seb and Elfyn. Rally leader Thierry could only manage the fifth best time over 7 seconds slower than his teammate and now his lead was only half a second from Ott.

Onto SS10 Beyond Borders 1 – 24.33 km and Adrien continued to have problems, going off the road again and damaging his Puma. Meanwhile, Elfyn was fastest from Seb and Thierry. This time it was Ott that lost time, only going fifth fastest and with Seb only 1.2 seconds slower than his teammate the Frenchman moved ahead of his former M-Sport teammate and into second overall.

SS11 Schärdinger Innviertel 1 – 17.35 km the final morning stage and after Seb, Elfyn and Ott had completed, Thierry who would be last to complete the stage from the group of Rally1 cars and had a spin in a left hander and did a full 360-degree spin before getting back underway. Further on though, he then went wide on a corner and then got stuck rejoining the road in the drainage ditch. He would lose over 30 seconds and with that fell to fourth overall, behind the new top three. Also, to have problems was Takamoto as he went wide onto the grass and lost around ten seconds whilst rejoining on the slippery grass.

After the service break next up was SS12 Granit und Wald 2 – 20.05 km and Ott was fastest from Seb and Elfyn who set the joint second fastest time. Ott had reduced Seb’s lead to just 1.1 seconds.

The penultimate stage of the day, SS13 Beyond Borders 2 – 24.33 km and Seb was again fastest from Thierry and Ott. Twelve seconds covered the top three, whilst the former leader Thierry was 37.7 seconds behind and 25.7 from the podium.

The final stage then of the day, SS14 Schärdinger Innviertel 2 – 17.35 km and Seb was again fastest from Ott and Elfyn.

Let’s take a look at the top ten and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day Two

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sébastien Ogier

“I’m happy with my day. It’s been a very close fight for the whole day. The conditions were tricky this morning, but we were quite consistent. Ott was really fast on the opening stage on both passes and we had to react to that, especially this afternoon in order to rebuild our lead. We tried to push even more on the last two stages, but five seconds is not that much of an advantage so the same kind of approach will be needed tomorrow. So far, it’s been a good weekend, and the car is working well considering it’s our first asphalt rally for six months. With these positions after Saturday, we’re catching up in the manufacturers’ championship and let’s try to get some more points tomorrow.”

Elfyn Evans

“I think it’s been a solid day for us in more very mixed conditions. The morning especially was pretty difficult with a bit of fog bringing quite a lot of moisture onto the road, and this evolved between our route-note crews going through and us driving the stage. Therefore, we had to use our own judgement and it seems from the times that this wasn’t so bad. In the afternoon it was drier, but the road was quite polluted with mud, and we didn’t seem to cope with that so well. The margins were only small, but we lost a bit of ground there. Still, it’s been a strong day for the team, and we’ll keep fighting for more points tomorrow.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Today my target was again to have a clean day. This morning it went well except for this last stage, which was quite tricky with surface changes and bits of gravel on the road. I realised under braking for this one corner there was not enough grip, so I decided to go straight. It felt like a long time sliding on the grass, but we got back on the road without any issues. This afternoon the conditions were much drier and easier, and we could have a clean loop. Tomorrow I’ll aim for a good run through the first stages and see if I can do anything in the Power Stage, but my main job is to be there for the team.”

Sami Pajari

“It has been quite fun today. The conditions were a bit different from the morning to the afternoon as it was getting drier and more grippy, and that was a different kind of a challenge with new things to learn: when it’s like that you need to try and go for it and that’s quite demanding with a Rally1 car. The pace that the top guys are doing is so high, but it’s quite nice to see that we can be as close as we have been in our first rally on asphalt, and I have many ideas where I can improve. Already the improvement during the rally has been quite good and the confidence is growing nicely. I’m looking forward to doing four more stages with this car tomorrow.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Ott Tänak

“It has been quite an intense day. This morning I had one bad stage where I lost too much time, and the rhythm wasn’t good enough, however this afternoon the car worked really well on the first stage in what was the most difficult, dirty and challenging conditions. The next two were too clean and high grip, and my setup was just not racy enough to get the speed out of the car. We know from last year you want to prepare a forgiving car, and while it’s a bit different on the roads this year, the car is not bad to drive – it’s just missing the top speed in nice conditions. We all need to have a strong day tomorrow to bring home important points for the championship.”

Thierry Neuville

“I’m obviously very disappointed for what happened today, we paid the price for a mistake during the recce. It’s unfortunate, but it is what it is. We didn’t expect to be fighting for the lead this weekend; we came here with the target of finishing the rally, however we were in a situation yesterday where we were in a close battle with all the title contenders as well as for important manufacturers’ points. We had to drive fast, and we did what we could today. Tomorrow, we need to try and take as many extra points as possible, so we go into Japan with a comfortable lead. The stages look quite interesting – hopefully they will be drier and less tricky than today.”

Andreas Mikkelsen

“Today we worked a bit on the setup of the car to prepare for Super Sunday. We had very different conditions on the second loop; it was much drier, which required some changes. Overall, we had a good, clean loop. We stayed away from taking big risks so for sure there is still time to gain, but I don’t feel that I am too far away. We tested some things on the car, some of which worked well, so we are going in the right direction, but we know we have one more gear for tomorrow. I want to contribute to the team’s manufacturers’ fight, so we will wake up with a fresh mind and give it our best.”

Oliver Solberg

“We softened the car for the afternoon,” he said. “That made quite a big difference. It gave me more confidence and grip. I should have taken this set-up this morning, but it’s all about experience. I haven’t competed on Tarmac for nine months, so I was a little bit out of practice!

“The stages have been a lot of fun again today – that last one was super-nice. This morning was quite tricky with conditions changing a lot, it was easy to get caught out. Hopefully it will stay a bit drier through Sunday, but I have a good feeling for the set-up now.

“Let’s see what happens – but again the number of fans and the enthusiasm they are having out there has been really cool.”

Sunday

The final day of the rally will see the crews tackle 54km’s over the final four stages. Will there be another sting in the tail, or can Seb hold on for victory?

The first full day of action in the stages on the Czech roads and with the added dimension and challenge of no mid-day service.

After the two first stages on Thursday the top three positions were held by Seb from the two Hyundai teammates Thierry and Andreas.

The first stage then, SS3 Klatovy 2 – 11.78 km and Seb was fastest from Takamoto and Elfyn. The Japanese driver moved up one position into third overall, pushing Ott down to fourth. It was close at the top with just 5.3 seconds covering the top five!

Next up was SS4 Strašín 1 – 26.69 km and Elfyn was fastest from Thierry and Ott. The Welshman’s pace took him up two positions and into third overall, now just eight tenths of a second from the leader. In fact, the gap between the top five had reduced to 4.4 seconds.

Onto SS5 Šumavské Hoštice 1 – 16.85 km and Ott took this one from Thierry and Seb and it was all change again at the top of the leaderboard, with Thierry now into the lead, from Seb and Ott. Elfyn and Takamoto we now in fourth and fifth. There was drama with Andreas sadly as his Hyundai understeered wide on a left-hander and hit a fence on the exit of a corner. He was out for the rest of the day.

The penultimate morning stage then of the day, SS6 Klatovy 3 – 11.78 km which unusually was a third run through this stage was won by Takamoto from Thierry and Seb. Thierry was starting to build a small gap over Seb in their battle over the lead.

After the remote service next up was SS7 Strašín 2 – 26.69 km and Thierry was fastest from Elfyn and Ott. The Belgian had increased his lead over Seb who was fourth fastest and 3.6 behind the championship leaders.

The final stage then, SS8 Šumavské Hoštice 2 – 16.85 km and Seb was fastest from Thierry and Ott. There was the added element of some rain falling in the stage and the Belgian and French crews had the best of the conditions.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day One

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“I think everyone could see my smile at the end of the last stage today! I was happy to have had a good day and finish where we are. The Czech stages had the most tricky and challenging conditions of the weekend with the weather and the fog we had in the morning, so I am very pleased with how the day went. I felt comfortable in the car, the speed and confidence was there, and it was an interesting battle on the stages. We want to take these positives into tomorrow, where we will face a completely different type of profile, so there might be a job to do to adapt the car to these conditions. We are in the fight, it’s super close so we have to keep our rhythm and continuing driving well.”

Ott Tänak

“Altogether a positive day. It was very demanding, especially in the forest stages, but I actually enjoyed them a lot. The trickier the conditions, the better the car was behaving, but on the more circuit-like roads I was losing a couple of sections. Overall, it felt good. It’s critical we keep a good rhythm tomorrow and stay inside the boundaries. We need to push hard – it’s very tight between he four of us at the front. Tomorrow’s roads have lots of junctions but are pretty fast at the same time; during the recce, they looked pretty clean with a lot of anti-cuts, so I believe they will be more consistent than the stages we had today. It’s about going fast, and we will try to make the most out of it.”

Andreas Mikkelsen

“I’m disappointed we couldn’t finish today. We had very tricky conditions this morning. On SS5, it was difficult through the whole stage, but I still tried to keep a good pace. On a left-hand corner, there was less grip than I expected, and we understeered, running wide into the fence. Sadly, the damage to the car was too much to continue, but we hope to be back out tomorrow.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing

Sébastien Ogier

“I think today has been a positive first full day for us. We know the conditions here can be difficult when you don’t start right at the front, but the organisers have done a good job with the anti-cut devices to help this and give us a good battle so far between the top cars. This morning there were two little overshoots which cost us some seconds, and in SS5 we expected to lose time because there was more dirt and a lot of leaves on the road. This afternoon, we lost a few seconds towards the end of SS7 which was frustrating, but in the last one we took more risk and managed to stay close to the lead tonight. So, we’re in the fight for the win and we’ll try our best tomorrow.”

Elfyn Evans

“It’s been an OK day for us overall. It was a little bit up and down: some stages were really good, and others were a little bit average. This morning the grip was very changeable, it was quite damp in the two longer stages, and there were sections that did get a bit dirtier with passing cars. After remote service this afternoon, the following stage went quite well but in the last stage we seemed to drop quite a lot of time, especially in the dirty sections, so I’m a bit frustrated with that. Tomorrow, we expect the stages to be a bit cleaner and the profile changes a bit as well, so we’ll focus on adapting to that.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Overall, it went pretty well today. The conditions were difficult in some stages, but the car was working well, and I had good confidence. I just followed what I had planned before the rally: when the conditions were more consistent, I could push, and when they were not I just backed off a bit. Of course, that meant that I sacrificed some time, but I would say it was quite a clever drive. Now I have to try and keep this position until the end of the rally. Tomorrow will hopefully be cleaner but I’m sure it will still be tricky. I just need to stay focused and do my best.”

Sami Pajari

“I think I have been able to enjoy today more than I was expecting. To be without hybrid since the first stage this morning was a bit of a pity, not so much in terms of result because I am not focused on that this weekend, but it could have been nice to compare my times more to the other drivers to know where I’m at. Still, the feeling in the car has been quite nice, it’s been a clean day and I’m looking forward to tomorrow, when our road position should be better, and the stages should also be cleaner. I’ll just try to have a good flow and enjoy the stages.”

Oliver Solberg

“It was quite a tricky day today. The grip was changing a lot and when it’s like this, it’s really not so easy to take the confidence from the car.

“I made some set-up changes, trying to get the best grip from the car in these conditions – but at the same time, when it’s dry you need it to be a bit more racey. It’s hard to take the confidence in the driving when it’s like this.

“We will go again tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to the roads in Germany and Austria and to see so many people out enjoying a fantastic atmosphere is something special. The car’s been great with no technical issues, I just need to dial my driving into these conditions a bit more.

“Like always with the Škoda, I’m having a lot, a lot of fun with the car and me and Elliott [Edmondson, co-driver] enjoyed the day.”

Saturday

Tomorrow’s action sees the crews tackle 123km’s over six stages. Thierry is in the driving seat for this season’s championship, but let’s see what the positions are at the end of Saturday.