Ogier/Ingrassia repeat last year’s victory at the Rally Germany to extend their lead in the world championship
Thrilling finale – Mikkelsen/Jæger just miss out on the podium in fourth place
81 podium finishes, including 39 wins: Volkswagen gives Jost Capito a winning send-off
Wolfsburg (21 August 2016).Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) are back on the winning track – and it is asphalt: victory at the Rally Germany went to Volkswagen for the second year in a row. As they did last year, Ogier/Ingrassia won round nine of this season’s FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with the Polo R WRC, making full use of the slight advantage that came with opening the route on the first all-asphalt race of the year. Extremely difficult conditions, ranging from dry asphalt to wet concrete, made tyre selection a real challenge all weekend. Ogier/Ingrassia produced a display worthy of world champions to extend their lead in the Drivers’ and Co-Drivers’ Championship by 14 points to 59. Their closest rival, Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger (N/N) just failed to take second place in a thrilling finale and ultimately had to settle for fourth. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN), in the third Polo R WRC, recovered from a damaged gearbox on Friday to score two bonus points on the closing Power Stage. They also fought back to finish eighth in the WRC class and contribute to Volkswagen taking a big step towards defending its title in the Manufacturers’ Championship.
“Winning the ADAC Rally Germany again is a great success for Volkswagen and an important step towards defending the title in the World Rally Championship,” said Dr. Frank Welsch, Member of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand with responsibility for Development, who visited the works team in Triera longside Christian Eisenlohr, General Secretary, Volkswagen Passenger Cars. “The Rally Germany once again lived up to its reputation as being particularly challenging. Our entire team did an outstanding job in front of our home fans, and I would like to thank them for that,” said Welsch.
Gripping finale for second place – Mikkelsen/Jæger narrowly beaten in fourth place
Thrilling down to the finish: Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger (N/N) once again found themselves embroiled in a gripping three-way battle for second place on the final day at the Rally Germany. In light of the looming rain, they opted for three soft and three hard Michelin competition tyres for the showdown on the closing three special stages. And thereby for one more replacement tyre than their rivals at Hyundai – but with the option of having more wet tyres in the damp conditions. The rain never came, but Mikkelsen/Jæger tried everything to seize second place, however, they were forced to pay the price of the extra weight of around 20 kilograms and overheating brakes: Fourth place, despite an immensely strong performance on all rally days.
The duo in second place in the championship staged a gripping duel with their Volkswagen team-mates Ogier/Ingrassia for the lead on Friday and Saturday, which went in favour of the three-time World Champion on the legendary “Panzerplatte”.
1. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), Volkswagen, 3h 00m 26.7s
2. Dani Sordo/Marc Martí (E/E), Hyundai, + 20.3s
3. Thierry Neuville/NicolasGilsoul (B/B), Hyundai, + 20.4s
4. Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger (N/N), Volkswagen, + 27.2s
5. Hayden Paddon/JohnKennard (NZ/NZ), Hyundai, + 3m 34.8s
6. Mads Østberg/Ola Fløene (N/N), Ford, + 4m 31.2s
7. Esapekka Lappi/JanneFerm (FIN/FIN), Škoda, + 8m36.8s
8. Pontus Tidemand/Jonas Andersson (S/S), Škoda, + 8m 52.5s
9. Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler (CZ/CZ), Škoda, +9m 44.2s
10. Armin Kremer/Pirmin Winklhofer (D/D), Škoda, + 10m 10.6s
