Kalle Rovanpera took win in FIA WRC Central European Rally ahead of Elfyn Evans to help Toyota clinch teams’ title, as Ott Tanak was third.
Friday:
Sébastien Ogier clung to a narrow 0.6sec advantage over Toyota team-mate Kalle Rovanperä after a demanding first full day of Central European Rally. The eight-time world champion led from the outset, his experience proving decisive over the day’s six stages spanning almost 100km across three countries and varying road conditions. Despite seeing his advantage trimmed slightly on the repeated afternoon loop, Ogier ended Friday on top as Toyota Gazoo Racing tightened its grip on both the rally and the manufacturers’ title.
Rovanperä, who topped two afternoon stages at Col de Jan and Böhmerwald, appeared more at ease on the cleaner, faster Austrian and German asphalt than in the dirtier Czech sections. Elfyn Evans, marking co-driver Scott Martin’s 200th WRC start, rounded out the all-GR Yaris podium. The Welshman topped the final 10.86km Granit und Wald test under full darkness, trimming his gap to the leaders to 29.5sec and reclaiming ground after being handed a five-second penalty on Thursday evening for hitting a haybale chicane.
Ott Tänak held fourth in his Hyundai i20 N, 3.3sec behind Evans, while Takamoto Katsuta sat just 2.9sec further back in fifth. Toyota now occupies four of the top five positions and can clinch the manufacturers’ championship this weekend if Hyundai fails to outscore it by six points. Adrien Fourmaux was sixth for Hyundai, his afternoon highlighted by second-fastest time for SS7 after struggling earlier with balance in his i20 N Rally1.
The Korean marque’s day of mixed fortunes continued as Thierry Neuville battled a flapping bonnet, understeer, and a heavy landing that caused a rear-right puncture during the morning loop. Grégoire Munster came unstuck on the same jump that caused Neuville’s tyre deflation but was forced to retire his M-Sport Ford Puma with broken rear suspension.
Team-mate Josh McErlean survived unscathed apart from a bent steering arm to end ninth overall after a steep learning day. Newly crowned WRC2 champion Oliver Solberg rounded out the top 10 in his GR Yaris Rally2, but with the Swede not eligible to score points, it was Alejandro Cachón who topped the WRC2 standings.
Saturday:
Kalle Rovanperä leads Central European Rally by 36.3sec after a dramatic Saturday in which team-mate Sébastien Ogier crashed out of contention, reshaping both the event and the WRC title battle. Rovanperä began the day just 0.6sec behind Ogier but seized the initiative immediately, moving into the lead on the opening Made in FRG test.
One stage later, Ogier’s hopes of victory and a crucial haul of points ended abruptly when he ran wide on a damp, leaf-covered section of asphalt on the rain-affected Keplý stage. The Frenchman’s GR Yaris Rally1 struck a tree in a 10G impact that destroyed the front-left corner of the car. Both he and co-driver Vincent Landais were unhurt and are expected to restart to the 10 points available from Sunday’s four-stage finale.
The incident – eerily similar to the crash that ended Ogier’s rally here 12 months ago – left Rovanperä clear at the top, while also altering the championship arithmetic. With Ogier out, team-mate Elfyn Evans is provisionally poised to seize the drivers’ championship lead, though Rovanperä also remains firmly in contention. Hyundai’s Ott Tänak emerged as Rovanperä’s nearest challenger, vaulting past Evans into second overall after topping the repeat of Keplý and continuing to close the gap through the afternoon despite reporting “a strange transmission noise.”
He ended the day 36.3sec behind the leader. Evans, meanwhile, struggled to match the i20 N Rally1 driver’s pace on the drier roads but kept his composure to complete the day third, 8.4sec adrift. Takamoto Katsuta shone in fourth, claiming two stage wins at Klatovy and ending the penultimate leg within 13.6sec of colleague Evans. His performance helped Toyota tighten its hold on the manufacturers’ championship, which it looks increasingly likely to seal on Sunday.
Adrien Fourmaux maintained fifth in his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 after a clean and consistent day, with Sami Pajari continuing to impress in sixth. After a trouble-ridden Friday, seventh-placed Thierry Neuville salvaged late encouragement by winning the final stage in darkness. M-Sport Ford’s Josh McErlean survived a collision with a chicane to place eighth overnight as Rally2 runners Oliver Solberg and Léo Rossel rounded out the top 10. Rossel inherited the WRC2 category lead when long-time pacesetter Alejandro Cachón stopped with rear suspension damage on SS14.
Sunday:
Kalle Rovanperä kept his cool to win Central European Rally on Sunday, guiding Toyota Gazoo Racing to a fifth consecutive WRC crown and igniting one of the closest title battles in modern WRC history. The Finn assumed control on Saturday when team-mate Sébastien Ogier crashed out in treacherous conditions. From there, he managed the gap with trademark composure to take victory by 43.7sec.
It marked Rovanperä’s third win of the year following triumphs in the Canary Islands and Finland, and Toyota’s ninth manufacturers’ title – surpassing Citroën’s tally of eight and leaving the Japanese marque just one behind record-holder Lancia. Behind him, Elfyn Evans snatched second place from Ott Tänak on the Wolf Power Stage after a day-long chase. The Welshman benefitted when Tänak had a moment on SS17 (Beyond Borders 2) at the same bridge which had earlier claimed Thierry Neuville, trimming the gap to 1.1sec heading into the finale. Evans then edged ahead by 5.6sec in the closing kilometres to seal a Toyota one-two.
Ogier’s incident, which occurred when he understeered into a tree on Saturday’s Keplý stage, proved a turning point both for the rally and the drivers’ championship. The Frenchman had arrived in Passau two points ahead of Evans, but his crash now leaves the Welshman back on top of the standings with a 13-point buffer. A maximum haul of Super Sunday and Wolf Power Stage points means Ogier now sits level with Rovanperä approaching the final two rounds – part of one of the closest title fights in the WRC’s modern era.
Takamoto Katsuta capped off a promising weekend by finishing 17.5sec behind Tänak in fourth, while Adrien Fourmaux completed the top five in his i20 N Rally1 despite continued struggles with understeer. Rookie Sami Pajari impressed again in sixth – his fifth consecutive points finish. Behind them, Josh McErlean and Grégoire Munster ensured both M-Sport Ford Pumas reached the finish, McErlean equalling his best career result in seventh overall. Newly crowned WRC2 champion Oliver Solberg ended eighth in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, with Czech stars Jan Černý and Filip Mareš rounding out the top 10.
[The story is as per press release]