News and quotes SS 15 (Beyond Borders 1)

Sunday morning brought another dramatic retirement right at the start: Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) was forced to retire after crashing into the border bridge between Germany and Austria. The Hyundai i20 was subsequently no longer roadworthy. As the impact displaced a hay bale and bent the bridge railing, extensive clean-up work was necessary. The stage was therefore abandoned and the remaining starters were directed to an alternative route to the start of SS16. At the time of the accident, Sébastien Ogier, Joshua McErlean (Ford) and Grégoire Munster (Ford) had completed the stage.

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

‘Let's see what we can achieve today. It wasn't easy with the dust on the track. Many thanks to the team for rebuilding the car. We'll try to enjoy the last day.’

#13 Grégoire Munster (LUX) / Louis Louka (BEL), Ford Puma Rally1

‘I expected it to be more slippery because of the dust. The Czech stages were much more slippery. Even during the recce, the conditions here weren't good. But now everything was fine and I was much too slow.’

#55 Joshua McErlean (IRL) / Eoin Treacy (IRL), Ford Puma Rally1

‘During the recce, the conditions weren't good, but now the grip was good. Despite the cold, the tyres warm up quickly.’

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

‘I haven't had time to check it yet. But I think our note was just a little too fast for this spot. The spot was very narrow. I already had understeer when turning in, and then the corner was tighter than I thought. It was a violent impact.’