Trier (Germany) (AFP)
Belgium's Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) almost said goodbye to the final victory on the German Rally, the 10th round of the World Championship (WRC), after puncturing the dreadful roads of the Baumholder military camp.
"The left rear tire was a lottery and we were really unhappy, we were driving in the middle of the road, so I do not know where it came from but the rally is not over", at all Neuville also declared, who seemed determined.
After this puncture, the one who was the runner-up of Estonian Ött Tänak (Toyota) retrograde to seventh place provisional and charges a disbursement of 1 min 32 sec on the leader.
Neuville had achieved so far four "scratches" (best times) and seemed to be the only one to compete with Tänak.
The Baumholder, a military field with its tank training tracks, is feared by pilots, who sometimes ride on armor plates (Panzerplatte), a surface that "changes constantly", as explained by WRC, organizer of the rally. .
The Frenchman Sébastien Ogier (Citroën) temporarily drops him from the podium for half a second in favor of Finland's Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota).
There are still two special stages to be played on Saturday in this rally in Germany, which will end on Sunday.
© 2019 AFP