News and quotes SS 8 (Granit und Wald 2)

The final stage of the day, ‘Granit und Wald 2’, brought Elfyn Evans the success he had been longing for. The Briton was the fastest with a time of 5:30.9 minutes, followed by Sébastien Ogier, who finished the second day of the Central European Rally as the overall leader. His closest rival, Kalle Rovanpära, finished the stage in third place. The eighth stage took the competitors into darkness once again, and they are now on their way to the service park in Passau.

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

‘It's more challenging than usual to open the stage. The only stage that was really good for us was the fifth. Otherwise, we cleared the track for the rest of the field. Whether we finished the day in first or second place doesn't matter at the moment.’

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

‘I'm not sure how much we're really missing. But better that way than the other way around. However, the posts at the side of the road are extremely reflective. I could hardly see anything. We need to find a solution for tomorrow.’

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

‘It was okay. Driving in the dark is extremely difficult. The anti-cut strips are very reflective. Fortunately, we don't drive much in the dark. It's not a bad thing that we're second. I prefer to start ahead of Sébastien tomorrow.’

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

"There was more dust than expected at a braking zone and we drove too far. I completely changed the setup – just to try it out. That was very interesting. We went from very soft to very stiff. To be honest, I'm having problems. We'll try something different tomorrow. But it's no fun.‘

#5 Sami Pajari (FIN) / Marko Salminen (FIN), Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

’It was fun driving in the dark. It can be challenging. The reflective anti-cuts sometimes blinded me. Otherwise, we had a decent day – some stages were good and some not so good."