36. ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2018
16. 8. – 19. 8. 2018, Bostalsee • asphalt 325.76 km • total distance including road sections - 1221.89 km • Other years
Info
SS18
I don't know about championship challenge, but it is nice to win this specific event. Seb (Ogier) was pushing so hard and it was hard to keep up with him. But at the end we won so that is good.
"I made a mistake in this one, I had to reverse. After that I knew it was lost and had to take it steady. I struggled a bit with the pace and the confidence in the car. "
"It is a good feeling now, just a clean weekend for us - no mistakes and no drama. A lot of action today moved us up to third place. It us our time now."
"That was more than I expected. Really happy for the time and for the improvement that I did on this rally. On the event I was able to be really close to Seb on some stages."
"We had a small issue on the diff and the car was a bit unstable. It was not a lucky weekend for us."
We didn't risk anything, it is important for the manufacturers that we get the points. It's been a tough weekend, we have a lot of homework to do before Spain day two.
I didn't want to do what I did yesterday. We had some good speed in places, just a shame about the mistake. I enjoy being back on asphalt, we should have more of these.
I have to say this was a really big weekend, thanks to the teams and the fans any everyone. We didn't give up and finally it has paid off. Thank you.
"I have to say that I am really happy because it was a really difficult race and I knew it was going to be toughest asphalt race in the world.
"
"We are happy, we have done a good job in this race. Today it was difficult because Kopecký and Rovanpera were very fast. I want to remember the accident in Genoa, this result is for them."
"It was a dream all weekend. We had a very good result at the end. I am very happy.
"
"It is really a dream result for us, we did no mistakes all weekend. Thanks to all my sponsors who helped me make my dream possible. Thanks to all the supporters on the stages as well!"
SS17
"We were flat out completely! We lost a lot with the issues yesterday, we are not giving up that is for sure!"
"All fine, just getting through these two runs, nice stage actually. All okay."
"Clean rhythm, no worries. We are on asphalt so five points is definitely not possible but we will try our best."
"I kept a good rhythm in there, but I stalled the car on the first junction. I lost some time but you never know how much so I kept going fast."
"Very much a deliberate run through there, as we saw on the first pass, Thierry's pace is too fast for me so I'm just keeping it on the road."
"I'm just trying to keep the pressure on. I'm trying to push hard but if I push in the wrong sections I have a lot of moments. When the feeling is not the car and you start to push that is not nice at all."
"We had a clean stage and we tried to keep a good rhythm."
"It was okay, I tried to save the tyres and I wasn't too smooth with the handbrake at the hairpins so I stalled twice."
"Tricky stage, little bit more happy with the driving on that one, so yeah happy."
SS16
"stopped in SS16"
"Very clean, I saw from the beginning the lines were far away from the road, there was everything on the road from trees to bushes!"
"I went really fast in a right corner and I hit all the vineyards, it broke the screen and I can't see anything. The temperature is a little bit high so I think I damaged something."
"Really tricky stage, I made a couple of mistakes where I went into the field but I always saved it."
Stopped
"It is a tricky stage, quite a bit of dirt already coming from the front cars. But we managed. I was crying on the stage! I had very wet eyes so I had to blink a few times to clear the vision, but it is okay!"
"I did some changes to the car yesterday and for me it was in the worse direction. I lost the rear on the some of the medium
"All of this means Neuville is going up so he will catch more points!"
"Feeling is good and the car is really nice to drive."
"It is nice, just purely trying to get a bit of confidence back and get the rhythm back again. It was quite enjoyable though."
Stopped
SS15
"It was a mega fight today with Seb, we were pushing really hard. I must say I was not feeling too comfortable on the first loop. It is a big shame for Seb."
"We are not really on the pace, we struggle a bit with the handling. If you push hard it is easy to make a mistake and I did one earlier."
I pushed as much as I can, now it is full risk because I have nothing to lose any more. It is disappointing for sure, at this moment you just want to cry. We had a strong performance this weekend and you don't get the reward for it.
"It was a big push out there I tell you. There was a bit of a moment on the gravel early on but it was ok. These fights are great, you really have to push yourself."
"Looks like I lost a little bit of time."
We keep on working and finding out things. We're taking steps, that is the main thing. Now I try to use a little bit more handbrake, it is not the most efficient way to turn the car but it seems to work.
I tried, I didn't have a good start to the stage and I just got caught out by some loose.
"Step-by-step we are improving, but much better than yesterday."
The car just stalled, you cannot pull the handbrake without the car stalling. We're just going through all the things that can go wrong really.
"It has been a good day from that side so I can be quite happy for this day that I have been improving and making some good times. But there are some things I would like to improve - driving fast in the corners."
SS14
"There is nothing about pushing any more. In the tricky places I was just being careful and on the smooth asphalt I can just push. The balance is a lot better than it was earlier as well."
The mirrors in this rally are kind of in a bad place with the chicanes! I can't do more on this stage, it was better than this morning though.
"We had an okay stage, I tried to be a little more aggressive now with the handbrake."
I'm enjoying it, it is just class being in the middle of something. In the last few rallies I've been out on my own opening the road, or near to it, but this is just class.
Couldn't come faster to be honest, quite a clean stage.
stopped on road section - alternator
"Very slippery, not really a line for me. I think when the other WRC drivers come there will be a clean line. I tried my best, but for sure I think it will get faster this time."
"Unfortunately we will get not so much out of this rally, but what can you do at this moment? We were trying hard, but it is part of the game."
"I had a very good stage to be honest, but I think we are a little too stiff on the springs, with the speed I am driving we should be on the pace."
"It is a big fight, we had a very, very good stage. Dani has been pushing harder than this morning so it is going to be quite a battle."
"I will drive for the time if needed, but I'm really sure Seb has good pace so I can go full throttle and he will pass me."
SS13
"We had a puncture on the previous one actually. On this stage it was a bit distracting at points because I saw Seb so close to me and I backed off a little bit."
stopped
"Puncture. Don't know how it happened, same line like always. We know it is a bit of lottery with the rocks."
"That's part of the game obviously and you can see what happened to me last year, a puncture for Seb I guess? The car was good, I kept a clean rhythm and didn't take any risks."
"I'm happy with the car and with the performance on this stage. In the morning this stage was also good for us. I want to do well on the next two stages because the Toyotas look like they're faster."
"Not perfect for sure, it is hard to manage. I think my tyre management is okay but I am just missing the perfect feeling."
stopped, moving again
"Didn't push as much as I wanted in there. I had a bad tyre in that one, thankfully there is a tyre fitting zone next."
"I was struggling with the tyres, it was difficult to manage them but it was only my second time ever with the WRC car here and maybe that is part of the learning."
"I'm not so happy to see my time in there because the feeling with the car was better but the time was worse. I just need more time in the car basically just so I can understand how you drive it."
SS12
"We had some mistake here and lost some time. We have to be careful on the next one so we don't have any punctures and then we'll assess from there."
"We just need to focus now on our performance which has to be perfect."
"A lot of spectators here, I enjoyed it quite a lot but unfortunately we have intercom problems."
"I had a good clean run, the feeling was better. There was no risk, but I was more happy. I'm happy to go for the long one now."
"We are trying our best, it was a good clean stage to us."
"I could not match his time. I had a really good stage, but obviously he has something I couldn't find in the set-up yet."
"It is a great battle, I thought I had a good run but it seems Dani is even faster."
"Looked like the car is working really well in these conditions. I am really confident when the surface is like this. The problem is I was slower on the last two stages before this."
"Not a clean run, a lot of dirt on the roads. A few mistakes but quite okay."
"Made a little change in service, definitely feeling confident with the whole thing. Just conserving the tyres so I can go like the clappers in the next one."
"We try as good as we can. Maybe it was a bit better now, we made some changes - very small."
"It was okay, nothing special. I want to do my best and hope to be faster."
"It felt a little bit better, but I had less grip in the car as well. The time is better but it is still a bad time. It felt faster than the time shows."
SS11
"It is going in the right direction, but on the last stage I made mistakes on four or five stages."
"It has been better. The road characteristics have changed, it has been much cleaner."
"Our main target this afternoon is to find more balance and have another good loop."
"Top of the times is always Toyota. I am really pushing, on the last stage I did a perfect stage. It looks almost impossible but I am pushing as hard as I can without being stupid. "
"Not completely satisfied with my performance, some of the guys were a bit quicker than me, maybe I was braking too late.
"
There's no chance for us to resist against their speed. I am pushing really hard. This stage I didn't do last year and I am really on the edge.
I'll try and get as high as this car will let me.
I'm trying the best I can, trying different things in every junction trying to make it work. Germany has a lot of junctions.
The times have not been horrible. We're trying to work to take away some of the understeer.
SS10
"Everything was okay, we had a lot of wrong information from our gravel crew."
"All Toyota in front like always. I had a really good stage, I can't do any more. I was on the limit."
"I really pushed hard on this stage so it must be something not working properly."
"We had a spin on the very first hairpin, I touched the throttle and it went round like a Mk2 Escort."
"It is a very interesting fight and really, really good. Esapekka is also charging now so he is getting closer!"
"This type of stages we have a lot of understeer. I don't have grip in the front. I do as much as I can but the Toyotas seem fast in these types of roads."
"I'm struggling to get the timing right. When I'm braking the car wants to go straight."
"It was an okay stage. A lot of things I need to improve, mainly in the corners - on the straights I can't go much faster."
"It is okay, a lot cleaner stage in there but still quite a lot of understeer. But a much better feeling now."
SS9
I don't know, I don't really know what you're talking about. I don't think the missing front aero part will make much of a difference.
changed puncture
stál v RZ
changed puncture
stopped
stopped
"It was more slippery than we expected in the first one but then we would expect it to be the same for everyone."
"I didn't have so much confidence at the beginning, it was very slippy and I expected higher grip."
"There's nothing to be honest, the car was not working at all. I cannot brake hard at all, and with the diff I am using at the moment I cannot do anything."
"We have too much understeer. I don't know if I'm driving a bit too aggressively, we'll have to calm it down."
"I don't know what it is going to do behind, but reasonable enough run. We're just trying to manage the tyres."
"I really normally loved this stage, last year we almost won it. Far from that pace now I feel, I am trying the best I can in the junction. I'm really struggling to know what to do in the junctions."
"It was an okay stage, it was a big surprise how much we needed to manage the tyres. Okay it wasn't tricky, but it was a big surprise to have to do it during the rally while competing with the others."
"No, not a better feeling. Okay the power is there but the car was not nice through there. We did a set-up change and it didn't work, there was lots of understeer especially when I tried to go on the throttle."
SS8
Rolled
I didn't expect such a dirty stage. It was low grip.
"For sure it is dirty, but the rhythm was not great and I felt a bit stiff. But we can improve on the next one for sure."
"I just struggled a little bit with the handling. Especially in the tight corners, I have no grip. It is getting more dirty so that is challenging."
"The stage felt okay but it is very, very slippery."
"It is alright, quite slippy in some places. I didn't feel the grip was the best, some loose stones and gravel in some places. But it was a good start."
"I didn't drive very well in some hairpins, I tried to push but I think in a few little places I will have lost a bit of time."
"It was quite tricky to be honest, not easy to find a rhythm, let's see how the long one goes."
"I was wide at one junction and a little bit raggedy and messy so there is room to improve."
"Still struggling in the junctions with this new style. I find it easy in third gear or fourth gear but when it's tighter I'm still using my old style."
Spin. "Just braked on the gravel, went wide a bit on the gravel but that's how it is when starting first on the road."
"It was probably crazy! There was a lot of unseen gravel on the road as well."
SS7
"The conditions were not easy today, hopefully tomorrow it will be dry. I think the pace is nice, if I had to push more I think I would make small mistakes, and small mistakes can affect this rally."
"This stage was really good, I was trying to push hard on this. The WRC 2 cars are really fast on this and I think I beat them on every stage so far, but only just."
"It is never easy, but what can we do? Mistakes happen and unfortunately it happened to us today. It is not easy to do this stage with less power, it upsets the rhythm."
I struggled a bit in places, I don't think our road position helped much but it should be more level tomorrow.
I've learnt how to drive this car on asphalt, it has been a really nice experience and hopefully we have similar tomorrow.
No, the dust has got no better. I guess I just need more testing to see where the limit is in these dirty places. Let's see if we can improve for tomorrow.
"Tomorrow is another day, today I tried to push to the maximum and it was difficult to be in the fight because they were very fast in front."
"The last two stages I think we have been going particularly well, we just stopped trail braking and rolling into the corners. It takes a while to change 10 years of driving style but it is getting better and better."
It's been a good fight with Elfyn. I've been pushing really hard, I've made a few small mistakes and that happens when you're pushing hard.
"I was hoping we could do something in here. I wanted to push and we had a clean run. Not completely satisfied with the one before this."
"It was difficult but to be honest we were on it all the time and we pushed very hard. We just hit a bit of a straw bale in a chicane. It is difficult for us to match the times of the guys running behind us."
"Yeah that is the good news of the day! It is hard to fight against the package of Ott and the Toyota. I think the aero is okay, the chassis worked very well."
I can't complain. This morning it didn't feel perfect but still the times were there, obviously the car had the speed and it was just a case of getting it more comfortable to me. I'm actually quite enjoying it now.
SS6
"It was very different from this morning. The day is still long and tomorrow we have Panzerplatte."
"Driveshaft again, I think it's broken."
I'm really enjoying it, I made no mistakes. The tyres were the right choice I think so all is fine.
"It was a bit strange in some places to have a wet reference from this morning and then push harder this time."
"I enjoy the stage now, the weather conditions are more equal for everybody. I want to improve, but from where we were in the morning we have already improved."
"A mistake happens, it is clearly a mistake, nothing has broken."
"I would rather have beat Latvala! But no problems in there."
I just don't know what to do to be honest. Clearly I'm not brave enough but I feel that I'm on the limit. I need to analyse what Tänak is doing differently.
It's just incredible. I just drive the maximum. For me it is was a clear stage. I can do nothing more.
The style reminds me of when I did this rally with Thierry before Christmas - the Monza Rally - when I was his passenger. I'm trying this new style with no trail braking at all.
I'm quite happy with the time we lost on this stage. It is a good step forward. There is still another step I need to do with the car. But I'm still not confident enough in the dirty places. We did some changes to the front differential.
Still faster than Seb! The conditions are so, so tricky. We don't want to do any mistakes. In these conditions it is tough to drive.
SS5
First retirement -> Super Rally
"We'll see if we've gone with the best compound. Struggling today, trying to find some rhythm and confidence."
"This one was really enjoyable, no rain, no intercom problems. I just drove it and it was a lot of fun."
"It started okay, but we thought it would have been wetter than that. We had some softs on which overheated towards the end. We also lost the brakes early on."
"It is really close, I'm really happy this battle is going on. I'm glad I chose the hard tyres for this one, it dried up at the last minute so I'm glad I changed my plan."
I said there at the end that I can't release it and let it flow like I wanted. I'm in the ballpark but I wanted to be in the fight for a podium.
"I'm feeling that I'm doing better and better. I was struggling with the rhythm a bit at the beginning and lost a few seconds."
"I don't know, we have an engine problem and I have lost power. We did a mistake and we don't have engine power. It feels the same problem that we had yesterday."
"Full poison for me, so no chance."
"I don't really know where we are overall, but it was a good clean stage. The balance was a lot better than the first run that's for sure."
"It is an okay time, I can see Tänak and Ogier are going fast. I can't match them that's for sure."
"I try to work again more and I had a good look in service to try and understand even more. Did some adjustments, it feels very unnatural, but maybe they'll feel natural in time."
"My target is to go a bit higher than Lappi, the people in front are really fast and it is difficult. Some places are really dirty and slippy, it is hard to find the limit."
"This one is like a normal German challenge again, it was quite tricky in places. It is very messy, it is like polished mud in places."
"At least I can judge from Thierry that it was good, but we have to wait to Ott. This morning we were missing a bit but now we will see."
"I don't know, I tried to push. You can always go faster but it is really tricky, there were plenty of places in my pace notes where it should have been muddy but it was completely dry. I also lost the bite on the brakes as well."
SS4
It was an okay morning loop. A lot of things I need to improve. The little bit of damage was on the last stage, I hit something and I don't know what.
"Nice, enjoyable. Just unbelievable luck to get caught on the rain on the previous one. I just can't believe our luck on Fridays."
"It is okay, it is always a tricky rally and this is like a new stage again. But the time is not good and that is a shame."
"The junctions are quite gravelly, it is just that point at the exit where you have to use the handbrake to get it round. Otherwise it is okay."
"It is not good. Let's go to service and we'll be wiser."
"I just tried to work on my driving style. This car takes a different style than I'm doing. I'm just trying to work. I just try to be more aggressive on the steering wheel."
"I try to drive as fast as I can. It was difficult because there isn't much grip. I don't know the time but the feeling is good."
"The feeling was okay to be honest. Just on the previous stage the end was so dirty and I'm not brave enough to drive on those sorts of conditions. I didn't like it and that's why I'm nervous when the dirt comes - I don't want to make a mistake."
"It was a very clean stage. I had everything good so it is going in a good rhythm at the moment. Stability is improving as well I guess."
"It was okay, much more grip than last year. Still a bit dusty but it was okay. Tried our best this morning, couldn't do much more than that."
"The car is working. I wasn't disturbed in the stage before, it was just a small leaking with oil. I think we were struggling this morning with dust, I think I have a little less rhythm in the corners because I'm driving fast and the times are not as quick as they should be."
SS3
"Aquaplained off into a curb and lost my rear left wheel. 3 wheels for 2km but fixed now."
"I had a massive rain shower in the middle of the stage, it was a full wet road for abut 3 or 4km. Friday normally puts things upside down for me."
"I tried to do my best."
"I struggled a bit on the hairpins. It is very difficult to use the handbrake and when you have such little time in the car it is difficult. At one of the hairpins I span."
"It was an okay stage, I pushed very hard. The grip has been surprising low this morning."
"I have no idea, I don't know the times. Some places I was hesitating."
"I had a half-spin in that one. If I push harder then I have understeer. I tried to change my driving style but I can't seem to figure it out."
"Okay, I didn't feel so bad. I tried my best, I lost a little bit of confidence towards the end, it was a little bit slippy. But for sure I wasn't expecting to lose that much time."
"To be honest not yet, the stability is struggling a bit in tricky places. We're learning all the time, I've never done this rally in the Yaris before."
"It is a dirty stage in places, a bit slippery. But we are trying to drive clever and it is not so bad."
"I had the feeling like I was doing a good stage this time. I don't know if there is dust on the stage or something because it is very low grip."
SS2
"Yeah incredibly polluted. I was so cautious not to make any mistakes and to get brakings in on time. It was a clean run though, no moments."
"No test, big accident and only five slower than Jan so I'll take that after this week. Some areas could have been a bit better but I'll take that. Big thanks to Stu Loudon for stepping in."
"It is nice, the stage is fully dry. You have to be careful because the WRC cars are cutting everywhere and it is quite slippery."
"Definitely it is not easy, this car is so amazing fast. The end of the stage wasn't the best with the rhythm."
"I was able to enjoy, but a lot of challenges with a new car on a new surface, but just need to improve the driving."
"Yeah incredibly polluted. I was so cautious not to make any mistakes and to get brakings in on time. It was a clean run though, no moments."
"Quite a lot of understeer which is surprising compared to what we had in the shakedown. Many sections are already very dirty and very difficult."
"It is in the ballpark of Seb's time. There are places where the dirt is coming onto the asphalt so I had to be careful."
"We tried of course, I don't feel really perfect. We had a clean stage but I need to be more aggresive on the steering wheel and adjust my driving style a bit. The stage is getting very dirty as well."
"I didn't feel really good with the car. We need to improve for the next one, it was difficult."
"There is big cuts near to the finish, I've been on the middle of the road. The time is not the fastest but quite a relaxed driver and very clean."
"It was a very clean run. I didn't feel too comfortable at high-speed, stability is not so nice."
"It is very close. Basically same time. Feeling is good, but not so much grip this morning."
"I'm not happy with the rhythm, I struggle a bit with understeer and oversteer all the time. There are differing levels of grip. I was just not confident enough in the behaving."
SS1
"It doesn't matter, but I expected to have a little less grip and they were overheating which wasn't easy. Looking forward to tomorrow, it is going to be tough. It is always so nice to see the fans, it is going to be a good show for them and I hope I can get some strong points for the championship."
"There are bales everywhere so it is easy to hit things. It is not a really enjoyable stage, it is so slow. But the real rally starts tomorrow."
"It was terrible, never had that bad a super special. It is tight for these cars and there is so much understeer. I guess it must be the same for everybody because it really is terrible." Hmm, didn't expect him to say that after his fastest run."
"I'm a bit confused, it felt horrible. But about tomorrow, it's a challenge, for some ways I just like the challenge of this rally - that's why I like it, I like to beat the challenge."
"We are doing quite well this year, we are here for fighting. Let's see tomorrow, it is a long day and a long rally."
"They told us to wait, we stopped the car. Then with eight seconds until we started they gave us our time card and told us to start. We didn't get the car started right on time."
"I don't know, the car didn't start the slide as I thought and then I clipped the bale. It's not the end of the world."
"I'm really looking forward to this one, the stages are looking great so let's wait and see."
"I have no power, I don't know why, but absolutely no power in the engine. I had to spin the wheels on the car because the engine kept dying all the time."
"It was nice, just enjoyed it. I grew up on asphalt, it's what I love."
"This stage I felt a lot of understeer and needed to pull the handbrake way too much."
"I was enjoying it as there was a lot of spectators from my home area. I was on the soft tyres and the car was moving around quite a bit, maybe the hard would have been better."
"Let's see tomorrow, but I think the competition is very high. It is nice to look around and see all these cars with really fast drivers."
"Body feels sore, mind feels good! Good to get that one out the way, it's a great stage for the fans." "Tělo bolí, ale mysl je dobrá."
"Really nice stage, very good for the spectators. A lot of fun and quite good."