Volkswagen Motorsport in first and second place during the ADAC Rallye Deutschland

• After 14 of 18 special stages, Sébastien Ogier is ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen
• Hyundai drivers Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo in striking distance to second place
• The second day of the German round of the FIA World Rally Championship again produces exciting battles

Munich/Trier, 20 August, 2016 - Volkswagen Motorsport again held on to first and second place at the end of the second day of the ADAC Rallye Deutschland. During today's nine special stages, Sébastien Ogier (FRA), who was closely behind Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR) yesterday, moved up into the lead of the rally field. The world champion, who already won the German round of the FIA World Rally Championship last year, now has an advantage of 33.4 seconds from his fellow Volkswagen driver Mikkelsen. The Hyundai duo of Dani Sordo (ESP) in third place (3.6 sec. behind Mikkelsen) and Thierry Neuville (BEL) in fourth position (0.4 sec. behind Sordo) reduced the gap to second-placed Mikkelsen. Prior to the final day of the rally on Sunday, Mikkelsen, Sordo and Neuville thus have to wait for Ogier to make a mistake in order to being able to play a role in the battle for victory.

On the special stages, the spectators got to see thrilling motorsport action from the very beginning. During the morning loop, Mikkelsen set the pace and decided the special stage Freisen-Westrich 1 in his favour. Ogier responded by posting the fastest time on the next stage, Bosenberg 1. At the military training camp of Baumholder, two further drivers put their names on the list of stage winners: Stéphane Lefebvre (FRA) won the first running of the two subsequent sprint stages with his Citroën DS 3 WRC, while Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN), who had retired on the previous day with his Polo R WRC, was fastest in the second running. At the 40.8 kilometres long stage at Panzerplatte, Ogier was successful again. With a clear fastest stage time, he was 13.5 seconds faster than Mikkelsen and thus moved up into the lead. Just after the first drivers had made it to the finish, an accident by Lefebvre caused the stage to be stopped. The Frenchman and his co-driver Gabin Moreau (FRA) were injured and taken to hospital. However, their injuries aren't life-threatening. No spectators were involved in the accident.

After the early afternoon service, the weather added to the excitement. Unfazed by the changeable road conditions, Sébastien Ogier extended his lead with another stage win (Freisen-Westrich 2). Thierry Neuville reduced his gap to Andreas Mikkelsen by posting the fastest times at the special stages Bosenberg 2 and the third running of the sprint stage at Panzerplatte. In the second marathon stage at Panzerplatte, Sébastien Ogier pulled a decisive gap over his rivals. The reigning world champion concludes the second day of the ADAC Rallye Deutschland with a margin of more than half a minute. With four remaining stages on Sunday, he thus has put everything in place to repeat his victory from last year. Behind the quartet in the lead, the nearest rivals, Hayden Paddon (NZL) and Mads Østberg (NOR) already have a considerable gap.

Once again, Armin Kremer concluded the day as the best-placed German. The Skoda driver is in ninth place and is fourth in the WRC 2 classification. Marijan Griebel from the ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team held on to his lead in the RC4 class. In the overall classification, the protégé of the ADAC Stiftung Sport is in 20th place. In the RC4 class, his fellow Opel driver Julius Tannert moved up into third place. Thus, the driver, supported by the ADAC Stiftung Sport, is in 22nd position overall. After a technical problem on the previous day, Fabian Kreim made up for ground lost: 42nd place overall for the German protégé of the ADAC Stiftung Spport. In the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup, run within the ADAC Rallye Deutschland, Jari Huttunen (FIN) is in the lead and has already secured himself the overall cup victory for this season.