Sebastien Ogier has led home a Volkswagen 1-2-3 at the Rallye Deutschland and could seal his third-straight championship next month at Rally Australia.
After missing out last year in Germany, Volkswagen were delighted with the victory as Ogier beat Jari-Matti Latvala by 23.0sec after three days of asphalt action on military roads and in the Mosel vineyards near Trier.
Andreas Mikkelsen finished third, a further 1min 33.6sec back, meaning VW has now won every event in the WRC since it entered in 2013.
“The pressure was on all weekend. Everyone expected us to succeed here finally and we made it with a one-two-three,” Ogier said at the finish near Trier, in the Mosel region.
“I’m so close to my third title now, so I’m really happy. It’s been a great rally, really enjoyable.”
Latvala won the final live TV Power Stage to claim three bonus points. Kris Meeke took two points in second in Citroën’s DS 3 and Dani Sordo secured one in a Hyundai i20.
Overall no changes in position on the final day, including Kiwi Hayden Paddon who finished in ninth.
“We’ve had some ups and downs but there are some good things to take away from the event,” said Paddon.
“We have accumulated a lot of data and information, which we can study back at home to see what we have to work on for the future.”
We have used today’s stages to build a bit more confidence and the set-up of the car definitely feels better than when we started, which is positive. It’s been an important weekend and one that will ultimately be beneficial.”
Coates Hire Rally Australia will be run at Coffs Harbour on 10-13 September.
VIDEO: Morning Stages
FINAL POSITIONS: Rallye Deutschland
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastien Ogier | Volkswagen Motorsport | Volkswagen | 3h35m49.5s |
| 2 | Jari-Matti Latvala | Volkswagen Motorsport | Volkswagen | 23.0s |
| 3 | Andreas Mikkelsen | Volkswagen Motorsport II | Volkswagen | 1m56.6s |
| 4 | Dani Sordo | Hyundai Motorsport | Hyundai | 2m09.3s |
| 5 | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai Motorsport | Hyundai | 2m33.8s |
| 6 | Elfyn Evans | M-Sport World Rally Team | Ford | 2m52.1s |
| 7 | Mads Ostberg | Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT | Citroen | 3m12.5s |
| 8 | Ott Tanak | M-Sport World Rally Team | Ford | 4m26.6s |
| 9 | Hayden Paddon | Hyundai Motorsport N | Hyundai | 4m46.8s |
| 10 | Stephane Lefebvre | Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT | Citroen | 4m54.5s |
DRIVERS´ STANDINGS
| Pos | Driver | Total |
| 1. | Sébastien Ogier | 207 |
| 2. | Jari-Matti Latvala | 114 |
| 3. | Andreas Mikkelsen | 98 |
| 4. | Mads Østberg | 90 |
| 5. | Thierry Neuville | 80 |
| 6. | Elfyn Evans | 61 |
| 7. | Kris Meeke | 56 |
| 8. | Ott Tanak | 54 |
| 9. | Dani Sordo | 52 |
| 10. | Hayden Paddon | 46 |
| 11. | Martin Prokop | 33 |
| 12. | Khalid Al Qassimi | 9 |
| 13. | Juho Hanninen | 8 |
| 14. | Yuriy Protasov | 8 |
| 15. | Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari | 6 |
| 16. | Nasser Al-Attiyah | 6 |
| 17. | Robert Kubica | 6 |
| 18. | Sébastien Loeb | 6 |
| 19. | Diego Dominguez | 4 |
| 20. | Paolo Andreucci | 4 |
| 21. | Esapekka Lappi | 4 |
| 22. | Pontus Tidemand | 2 |
| 23. | Jan Kopecky | 2 |
| 24. | Nicolas Fuchs | 2 |
| 25. | Gustavo Saba | 2 |
| 26. | Jari Ketomaa | 1 |
| 27. | Stephane Lefebvre | 1 |
| 28. | Lorenzo Bertelli | 1 |
TEAMS´ STANDINGS
| Pos | Teams | Total |
| 1. | Volkswagen Motorsport | 300 |
| 2. | Hyundai Motorsport | 161 |
| 3. | Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT | 148 |
| 4. | M-Sport World Rally Team | 138 |
| 5. | Volkswagen Motorsport II | 64 |
| 6. | Hyundai Mobis World Rally Team | 45 |
| 7. | Jipocar Czech National Team | 43 |
| 8. | F.W.R.T. | 9 |
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