The new Central European Rally opened this Thursday in the Czech Republic, before crossing Austria and Germany. During the two short specials held at the start of the evening, Thierry Neuville set the best time, covering the 8.92 km on the program in 6’06”9.
At the wheel of his Hyundai, the Belgian beat Ott Tänak (Ford) by 1”2 and Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) by 5”8. Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota), the leader of the Championship, follows in 4th position (at 5”9), while his last competitor for the title, the Briton Elfyn Evans (Toyota), is in 8th place (at 10” 7), after having made a small mistake. Sixteen stages remain to be run until Sunday.
