Sébastien Ogier wins ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2016

• Volkswagen Motorsport again successful in home rally
• Sordo and Neuville round out the podium after a thrilling final day
• Over 210,000 spectators attended the German FIA World Rally Championship round

Munich/Trier, 21 August, 2016 – Sébastien Ogier ist he winner of the ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2016. After 2011 and 2015, the French WRC star and reigning world champion wins the German round of the FIA World Rally Championship for the third time. For Volkswagen Motorsport, it is the second victory in the home event. 20.3 seconds behind the driver of the Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Hyundai Motorsport secured second and third place with a thrilling final dash: Dani Sordo (ESP) just ahead of Thierry Neuville (BEL) was the outcome in the end – the two separated by a mere 0.1 seconds. Also with a tiny margin, only 6.8 seconds down on a podium finish, Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR) was classified fourth.

On the 18 special stages around Trier, a four-way battle between Ogier, Mikkelsen, Neuville and Sordo soon emerged, captivating the numerous fans on site in the opening stages of the rally. While Andreas Mikkelsen dominated proceedings on Friday and led the quartet, Ogier was able to put everything in place for his victory with a pair of strong fastest times at the long Panzerplatte stages. From that time, the four-way battle turned out into a three-way fight between Ogier’s rivals.

The tiny margins that separated second to fourth place ensured that tension was kept upright on the final day of the ADAC Rallye Deutschland as well. On the day’s first two special stages (Dhrontal 1 and Sauertal 1), the Hyundai drivers attacked and made up time: Sordo toppled Mikkelsen from second place and Neuville moved up ahead of the Norwegian as well. After the penultimate stage (Dhrontal 2) had to be stopped because of spectators standing in a forbidden zone, the field started into the final power stage (Sauertal 2) with the same tiny margins. Here, Thierry Neuville came out on top, but in spite of his fastest time, he was one tenth of a second down on his fellow Hyundai driver Dani Sordo in the final classification of the rally. With an undisputed third place in the power stage, Sébastien Ogier secured his third win in the event. There were also additional world championship points for Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN), who was classified second in the power stage, but otherwise failed to score points. A technical issue on the opening day of the rally made the second-placed driver from last year drop back, leaving him without a chance.

With his achievement in the ADAC Rallye Deutschland, Sébastien Ogier further extends his lead in the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship drivers’ standings. The Frenchman is now on top with a total of 169 points from Andreas Mikkelsen with 110 points. Hayden Paddon (NZL), who was classified fifth in the ADAC Rallye Deutschland, is now tied in third place with his fellow Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville (both 94 points).

Sébastien Ogier: “This victory is for Jost Capito, our team principal, who is bidding farewell to Volkswagen Motorsport today. Winning for him was our plan and that worked out. For me, this victory marks the end of a long drought: six months without a victory, that simply is way too long. Of course, this is also good for the championship. A perfect weekend. Like last year, the Panzerplatte was the key to success. Admittedly, that isn’t my favourite stage, but I know it very well. That made the difference. And now, I am simply just happy!”

ADAC sports president Hermann Tomczyk: “Congratulations to Sébastien Ogier and to Volkswagen Motorsport for this victory, but also to the Hyundai drivers, who have shown a great competitive spirit. It was thrilling until the end. Once again, the ADAC Rallye Deutschland staged high-class motorsport that enthused a total of over 210,000 spectators on site. My particular thanks go out to the more than 3,000 volunteers who once more have made a decisive contribution to the safety and the success of this rally.”

The best-placed German, Škoda driver Armin Kremer concluded the ADAC Rallye Deutschland in third place of the WRC 2 classification (tenth place overall). The German protégés of the ADAC Stiftung Sport were also able to celebrate a good performance: Marijan Griebel from the ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team wins the RC4 class (19th place overall), his fellow Opel driver Julius Tannert was second in class RC4 (20th place overall) and Fabian Kreim was still classified tenth in WRC 2 (35th place overall) after losing time on the opening day with his Škoda Fabia R5. In the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup, Jari Huttunen (FIN) won both rounds.

Provisional result after 18 special stages:
1. Ogier/Ingrassia FRA/FRA Volkswagen Polo R WRC 3 h 00m 26.7s Std.
2. Sordo/Marti ESP/ESP Hyundai New i20 WRC + 20.3s Min.
3. Neuville/Gilsoul BEL/BEL Hyundai New i20 WRC + 20.4s
4. Mikkelsen/Jæger NOR/NOR Volkswagen Polo R WRC + 27,2s s
5. Paddon/Kennard NZL/NZL Hyundai New i20 WRC + 3m 34.8s
6. Østberg/Fløene NOR/NOR Ford Fiesta RS WRC + 4m 31.2s
...
10. Kremer/Winklhofer D/D Škoda Fabia R5 + 10m 10.6s Min.
19. Griebel/Kopzcyk D/D Opel Adam R2 + 21m 35.7s Min.
20. Tannert/Thielen D/D Opel Adam R2 + 22m 22.5s Min.
35. Kreim/Christian D/D Škoda Fabia R5 + 27m 16.0s Min.

Fastest stage times:
Ogier 7, Neuville 5, Mikkelsen 2, Sordo 1, Latvala 1, Lefebvre 1

Rally leaders:
Ogier SS1, Mikkelsen SS2-7, Ogier SS8, Mikkelsen SS9, Ogier WP10-18 (finish)

FIA World Rally Championship 2016 – points’ standings after 9 of 13 rounds

Drivers:
1. Ogier 169 points
2. Mikkelsen 110 points
3. Paddon 94 points
4. Neuville 94 points
5. Latvala 93 points
6. Sordo 86 points
7. Østberg 78 points
8. Tänak 58 points
9. Meeke 51 points
8. Breen 25 points

Manufacturers:
1. Volkswagen Motorsport 256 points
2. Hyundai Motorsport 201 points
3. M-Sport World Rallye Team 122 points
4. Volkswagen Motorsport II 121 points
6. Hyundai Motorsport N 96 points