A 1-2-3 lead for Volkswagen Motorsport in the ADAC Rallye Deutschland

• Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala in a duel for the lead
• Thrilling action, closely matched times and excellent conditions on the opening day of the German round of the FIA World Rally Championship

Sébastien Ogier (F) and Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) are the dominant drivers at the start of the 2015 ADAC Rallye Deutschland. In excellent weather conditions, the team-mates with their Volkswagen Polo R WRCs staged an entertaining duel for the lead on the opening day of the rally. Eventually, the French world champion came out on top and after eight of 21 special stages, he is now on top of the leaderboard with a margin of 9.5 seconds from Latvala. Behind the duo, Andreas Mikkelsen also convinced with consistently fast times on the demanding stages around Trier. Thus, the Norwegian completed a solid 1-2-3 lead for the Volkswagen team. Dani Sordo (ESP) is the first of the rivals for the Volkswagen trio with his Hyundai i20 WRC, followed by his team-mate Thierry Neuville (BEL) and Ford driver Elfyn Evans (GBR), who rounds out the top six.

Especially on the morning loop, Jari-Matti Latvala succeeded in putting world championship points’ leader Sébastien Ogier under pressure. Ogier having decided the first two special stages (Sauertal 1 and Waxweiler 1) in his favour, the Finn countered in the vineyards of the first Moselland stage: he was 2.3 seconds faster than ogier and thus took the lead, which he defended until the midday service. In the afternoon, Sébastien Ogier claimed back the lead with a faultless performance and extended his advantage from stage to stage. In total, the Frenchman posted seven fastest times on the eight special stages.

The best-placed German, Fabian Kreim concluded the opening dayin 28th position. The protégé of the ADAC Stiftung Sport was in the top 15 for a long time with his Škoda Fabia R5, but a turbocharger issue on the penultimate stage of the day cost him a lot of time. Another young driver from the ranks of the ADAC Stiftung Sport also had bad luck: Marijan Griebel lost valuable time due to an accident in the morning with his Opel Adam R2 and is currently in 37th place. Julius Tannert, the third driver in the field who is supported by the ADAC Stiftung Sport, is leading in the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup classification after the opening day, running within the ADAC Rallye Deutschland.

Standings after 8 of 21 special stages:
1. Ogier/Ingrassia FRA/FRA Volkswagen Polo R WRC 1:19.13,5 hrs.
2. Latvala/Anttila FIN/FIN Volkswagen Polo R WRC + 9,5 sec.
3. Mikkelsen/Floene NOR/NOR Volkswagen Polo R WRC + 34,9 sec.
4. Sordo/Marti ESP/ESP Hyundai i20 WRC + 1:06,8 min.
5. Neuville/Gilsoul BEL/BEL Hyundai i20 WRC + 1:08,7 min.
6. Evans/Barrit GBR/GBR Ford Fiesta RS WRC + 1:22,1 min.