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News and quotes service Karpfham

The first half of the third day of the Central European Rally is over. The weather surprised the drivers with fog and wet roads. Now it's all about preparing as well as possible for the afternoon and having a good instinct for the right tire choice. Some drivers share their experiences from the morning...


11 Thierry Neuville (BEL) / Martijn Wydaeghe (BEL), Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid

“We had a spin on the last stage – actually, two. We lost 30 seconds because of that and had to give up the lead. The conditions were difficult, and my pacenotes were a bit too optimistic. We didn’t make the corner. We can manage the afternoon better. We won’t be able to catch anyone in front, and no one can catch us from behind unless we make a mistake. So, we need to stay calm and get through the afternoon.”


17 Sébastien Ogier (FRA) / Vincent Landais (FRA), Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid

“Being in the lead is a positive. You have to be happy with that. But the gaps are small, and everything is still open. I’m glad we got through the tricky morning without issues. We need to continue like this. This afternoon won’t be any easier. The road will be quite dirty in some places. The information from the Gravel Crew will be crucial.”


20 Oliver Solberg (SWE) / Elliott Edmondson (GBR), Skoda Fabia RS (Rally 2)

“It was a tough morning. Last night, we thought it would be dry today. That’s why we opted for a stiff setup, a car setup for dry conditions. We were completely wrong. The first two stages were not great because of that. I changed everything for the last one and ended up winning it. The afternoon will still be tough, but I hope the car will be a bit more predictable.”


21 Yohan Rossel (FRA) / Florian Barral (FRA), Citroën C3 (Rally 2)

“I made a mistake on the first stage and lost a lot of time.”


22 Nikolay Gryazin (BGR) / Konstantin Alexsandrov (ANA), Citroën C3 (Rally 2)

“It went quite well. We took it easy without taking too many risks. That paid off as I was consistent and didn’t make any mistakes. Maybe we didn’t win every stage, but we made it through cleanly. Still, I hope we’ll have more grip this afternoon.”


27 Armin Kremer (GER) / Ella Kremer (GER), Skoda Fabia RS (Rally 2)

“Conditions were again very changeable. We eventually settled on a tire choice that wasn’t ideal for the last stage. The rain tires we ran crosswise certainly cost us some time there. But overall, we’re happy for now. We still have three stages ahead, and they’ll surely be exciting as well. It’s hard to predict if the fog will settle and make the roads even wetter in the afternoon. Rain isn’t forecast, but the road conditions are still surprising in some parts.”


30 Filip Mareš (CZE) / Radovan Bucha (CZE), Toyota GR Yaris (Rally 2)

“The morning was very tough. Everyone was expecting dry conditions, but the roads were wet. Especially the first two stages were really challenging. I’m happy we got through them at a good pace without any major mistakes. The last stage was quite dry, more than we expected. We had changed the setup for wet conditions before that. But we made it through and managed to hold our position. There’s still a long way to go. Now it’s about choosing the right tires for the afternoon.”


31 Marijan Griebel (GER) / Tobias Braun (GER), Skoda Fabia RS (Rally 2)

“The conditions are similar to yesterday. Instead of nice weather, there was a lot of moisture and fog with sometimes poor visibility. But it went really, really well for us. We set a big exclamation mark with the third-fastest WRC2 time on the first stage. The rest was okay. We’re still in a very tight battle for fifth place in WRC2. I’m not sure what to expect from the afternoon yet. Hopefully, slightly better conditions.”


39 Jan Černý (CZE) / Ondřej Krajča (CZE), Ford Fiesta Rally3 (Rally 3)

“I had a good morning. We won two out of three stages. On the second stage, we came in a close second. We’re happy with our speed. We’re pushing because we still have a good chance of a podium finish. The conditions weren’t easy, and some corners were extremely slippery.”


40 Filip Kohn (CZE) / Tom Woodburn (GBR), Ford Fiesta Rally3 (Rally 3)

“It was okay. On the first stage, we went off the road and lost about 20 seconds. Otherwise, our pace was among the fastest. We can be happy with that. The conditions will be similar this afternoon. Maybe drier in some places, but definitely muddier. We need to be cautious but also push. Let’s see how it goes.”


43 Hermann Gassner (GER) / Michael Wenzel (GER), Renault Clio Rally3 (Rally 3)

“Things went much better today. We made some changes to the setup. Now I feel much more comfortable in the car and can set better times. But we still have a lot of work to do, and it won’t get easier. The difference in grip between the dry sections and the dirty parts, where corners have been cut, is quite significant. The stages today are much faster than yesterday.”


48 Claire Schönborn (GER) / Jara Hain (GER), Ford Fiesta Rally3 (Rally 3)

“The car was repaired overnight. The team gave it their all. The first stage was very, very wet and rutted. Such conditions were completely new to me. We handled it pretty well. The second stage was very exciting. Many cars ended up in ditches because it was so slippery. We ran crosswise with rain tires for the last stage. That was for safety, but we probably could’ve gone with slicks.”


51 Thomas Pahlitzsch (GER) / Stefan Grundmann (GER), Volkswagen Polo GTI (Rally 2)

“I feel much more comfortable now. It’s slippery everywhere. Unfortunately, I’ve got a little gremlin in my head – we like to visit the scenery: mountain meadows, streams, ditches. But we were able to free ourselves, and the times were decent. It’s definitely fun.”


53 Timo Weigert (GER) / Jasmin Weigert (GER), Renault Clio Rally3 (Rally 3)

“It was an exhausting morning. We had brake issues. The rear-right brake caliper came loose, and we lost brake fluid, which caused a loss of brake pressure. We had to slow down. I hope we can fix it now.”

 

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