News and quotes at the day’s finish

#17 Sébastien Ogier (FRA) / Vincent Landais (FRA), Toyota GR Yaris Rally

‘It was a good day for us. We fought hard to stay in the lead the whole time. We're still at the front, but only by a small margin. Our goal for tomorrow is the same.’

#33 Elfyn Evans (GBR) / Scott Martin (GBR), Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

‘It was a mixed day for us. We weren't able to show the pace we wanted on technical stages five and six. Overall, it was quite disappointing how the day turned out. We would have liked to have been faster. Tomorrow will be similar to today. Maybe the tracks will be a bit cleaner, but with more cuts.’

#69 Kalle Rovanperä (FIN) / Jonne Halttunen (FIN), Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

“It was a good day. Starting third wasn't ideal, but we made the best of it. Now we are in a good position.”

#1 Thierry Neuville (BEL) / Martijn Wydaeghe (BEL), Hyundai i20 N Rally1

‘A difficult day. The flat tyre set us back and after that we worked a lot on the car. We tried to find something in the setup and we'll continue with that tomorrow.’

#20 Oliver Solberg (SWE) / Elliott Edmondson (GBR), Toyota GR Yaris

‘It was a good day for us. We found good speed and a good rhythm. We now lead the rally by a good margin and were able to win a few stages. My highlight was that we got through the difficult Czech stages so well and with a few interesting slides.‘

#22 Nikolay Gryazin (BUL) / Konstantin Aleksandrov (KGZ), Skoda Fabia RS

’It was actually okay. But the flat tyre meant we had no chance of fighting for the win. We will now focus on improving.‘

#27 Filip Mareš (CZE) / Radovan Bucha (CZE), Toyota GR Yaris

’We had a very good day, apart from the puncture on the second run of Col de Jan. Our advantage is that, unlike the other competitors, we have a consistent pace. Maybe we could have made it into the top three in WRC2. That would have been very good for us. Flat tyres are part of the game. It's a shame, because we didn't make any mistakes when we got the puncture. But there are still a lot of stages ahead of us.‘

#28 Fabio Schwarz (GER) / Pascal Raabe (GER), Toyota GR Yaris

‘Unfortunately, today didn't go much better than yesterday. On Col de Jan 2, the radiator hose came off and we had to spend half an hour repairing it. After that, we drove in “safe mode” to get the car through. Everything was held together by three cable ties. But that's the end of the rally for us.’

#32 Taylor Gill (AUS) / Daniel Brkic (AUS), Ford Fiesta Rally3

‘Today was fun. We are fighting hard in the Junior WRC and everyone is going flat out. We have enjoyed it so far. Tomorrow we will continue to push. I like the Czech stages we completed today. I hope tomorrow's stages suit us just as well.’

#40 Claire Schönborn (GER) / Michael Wenzel (GER), Ford Fiesta Rally3

"It was a very exciting day. We had some very technically demanding stages. It was a big challenge, especially in Czechia with the different surfaces and narrow passages. That's why I'm very happy that the car is back here in Passau in one piece. I'm very happy with my times and have already achieved my goal. Of course, I hope that we will now continue to move forward bit by bit. My highlight today was actually driving in the dark. I haven't done that very often. I found it very difficult yesterday evening, but now it was completely dark for the last two stages. I felt very comfortable. I'm really looking forward to Klatovy tomorrow. That was my favourite stage last year."

#41 Philip Geipel (GER) / Jennifer Lerch (GER), Toyota GR Yaris Rally2

"A long, exciting and exhausting day. Now we have to analyse it. I somehow have the feeling that the car lacks power. I don't really know what the problem is. There are vibrations and noises. We'll have to see if there's something wrong or if I'm just imagining it. This Col de Jan stage is really tough. I said yesterday that it separates the wheat from the chaff, and that's exactly what it did. The Czech competitors showed that they know the stage, of course. As a result, they were really fast. And a world champion showed why he is a world champion. It's endless fun."