Volkswagen locks out the top three in the 2015 ADAC Rallye Deutschland

• Sébastien Ogier victorious in German round of the FIA World Rally Championship
• An early decision: only Ogier and Latvala have chances to win the drivers’ title
• 225,000 spectators create a great atmosphere

München/Trier, 23 August 2015 – Volkswagen Motorsport wins its ‘home round’ and scores a historic 1-2-3: Sébastien Ogier (FRA) claims victory in the 2015 ADAC Rallye Deutschland and leads home his team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) and Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR). Thus, a German manufacturer wins the German round of the FIA World Rally Championship for the first time in history of the ADAC Rallye Deutschland.

On the 21 special stages around Trier, the Volkswagen trio dominated proceedings from the very beginning. With stage wins on the opening day of the rally, world championship leader Ogier laid the corner stone for his success with his Volkswagen Polo R WRC. Only Jari-Matti Latvala was able to follow the Frenchman. An entertaining duel followed, with the Finn keeping his chances alive for a long time with fast stage tomes on the Saturday. However, at the end of the day, the Frenchman had extended his margin in such a way that he was able to concentrate on maintaining his lead on Sunday. For the French world champion, it is his second victory in the ADAC Rallye Deutschland after 2011, back then still with Citroën.

Sébastien Ogier: “A perfect weekend, a perfect rally. I am very happy! I am almost happier for the team than for myself. This victory means a lot for everyone at Volkswagen Motorsport. In the past two years, we made many mistakes. Of course, the championship title has always been more important, but victory in the ADAC Rallye Deutschland simply was the one that was still missing.”

ADAC sport president Herrmann Tomczyk: “Congratulations to Sébastien Ogier and Volkswagen Motorsport for its 1-2-3. With perfect weather conditions, enthusiastic fans and great rallying action, the ADAC Rallye Deutschland has presented itself from its best side. Huge praise for the approximately 225,000 spectators who have created a great atmosphere and behaved in a very disciplined way.”

For the drivers’ world championship, the result of the ADAC Rallye Deutschland means an early decision: in any case, the 2015 FIA World Rally Champion will be driving a Volkswagen Polo R WRC, because Jari-Matti Latvala is the only driver who still has a mathematical chance to move ahead of Sébastien Ogier in the four remaining world championship rounds. The two will decide the battle for the title between themselves.

Behind the three Volkswagen drivers, Hyundai driver Dani Sordo (ESP) was classified fourth overall from his team-mate, last year’s winner Thierry Neuville (BEL). Elfyn Evans (GBR) finished in sixth place with his Ford Fiesta RS WRC. The power stage (Dhrontal 2), with additional world championship points at stake, saw Latvala (3 points) taking victory from Kris Meeke (GBR) with his Citroën DS 3 WRC (2 points) and Dani Sordo with his Hyundai i20 WRC (1 point).

The best-placed German, Škoda driver Fabian Kreim finished 21st in the ADAC Rallye Deutschland. Marijan Griebel, another protégé of the ADAC Stiftung Sport, was 24th in the overall classification with his Opel Adam R2 and thus was the best-placed driver in division 4. Julius Tannert, the third driver from the ranks of the ADAC Stiftung Sport, won both rounds of the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup that were held within the ADAC Rallye Deutschland.

Provisional result after 21 stages:
1. Ogier/Ingrassia FRA/FRA Volkswagen Polo R WRC 3:35.49,5 hrs.
2. Latvala/Anttila FIN/FIN Volkswagen Polo R WRC + 23,0 sec.
3. Mikkelsen/Floene NOR/NOR Volkswagen Polo R WRC + 1:56,6 min.
4. Sordo/Marti ESP/ESP Hyundai i20 WRC + 2:09,3 min.
5. Neuville/Gilsoul BEL/BEL Hyundai i20 WRC + 2:23,8 min.
6. Evans/Barrit GBR/GBR Ford Fiesta RS WRC + 2:52,1 min.
7. Østberg/Andersson NOR/SWE Citroën DS 3 WRC + 3:12,5 min.
...
21. Kreim/Christian D/D Škoda Fabia R5 + 28.22,6 min.
24. Griebel/Clemens D/D Opel Adam R2 + 34.25,4 min.

Fastest stage times:
Ogier 14, Latvala 6, Evans 1

Rally leaders:
Ogier WP1-2, Latvala WP3-4, Ogier WP 5-21

2015 FIA World Rally Championship - Standings after 9 of 13 rounds
Drivers:
1. Ogier 207 points
2. Latvala 114 points
3. Mikkelsen 98 points
4. Østberg 90 points
5. Neuville 80 points
6. Evans 61 points

Manufacturers:
1. Volkswagen Motorsport 300 points
2. Hyundai Motorsport 161 points
3. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT 148 points
4. M-Sport 138 points
5. Volkswagen Motorsport II 64 points
6. Hyundai Motorsport N 45 points
7. Jipocar Czech National Team 43 points
8. FWRT 9 points