Following a two-month summer break, the WRC returns to competitive action on this week's Rallye Deutschland (10 - 13 August). The German round of the FIA World Rally Championship marks the beginning of the second half of the 16-round series, but also brings the asphalt sector of the campaign to a close as the rally is the last of four sealed surface events.

Team Previews:

1. Kronos Total Citroen
2. OMV-Peugeot Norway
3. BP-Ford
4. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford
5. 555 Subaru
6. Red Bull-Skoda Team

1. Kronos Total Citroen

For Kronos Racing, this event represents the year's shortest journey. Thelories transporting the three Citroëns have less than three hundred kilometres to cover between Naninne and the single service park of Bostalsee. As usual, the two 2006 passive differentials Xsaras are those entitled to score 'Manufacturers' points, while the third one keeps its 2005 specifications. The news on this event come from the fact team-mates Dani Sordo/Marc Marti and Xevi Pons/Carlos Del Barrio have swapped roles in theManufacturers points' quest: Dani and Marc inherit the number 2 Xsara while Xevi and Carlos now play the role of the free-riders.

Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "The rally route has remained quite stable over the years since it first counted for the World championship. In consequence, we determine our set-up on the Xsara WRC about the same way from one year to another. We fine-tune it progressively with a first sequence in the Vosges region, similar to the Saarland stages, and with a German test with typical sections of the Mosel vineyards. And we still found some interesting things! This time the pre-event tests were a bit special : first because it was the last one of the Xsara WRC on tarmac and secondly because we also had the C4 with us. We had a great time."

Dani Sordo/Marc Marti: No quote available at time of going to press.

Xavier Pons/Carlos Del Barrio: "Usually the Spaniards perform quite well in Germany. Our 'asphalt' background and the good level of the Spanish championship give us a good basis to tackle this tricky terrain. In 2004, we achieved a good result considering the tight fight amongst several good drivers in the 'Production' category. In 2005, I competed for the first time on tarmac with the Xsara in 'Deutschland'. We improved our pace throughout the event without making mistakes."

2. OMV-Peugeot Norway

On Monday the OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team got into the mood for the OMV ADAC Rallye, the ninth run to the FIA World Rally Championship. 120 kilometres of testing were completed in the vinyards near the special stage "Bosenberg". Afterwards the OMV Team Stohl/Minor was full of confidence. From Friday on the new insights will be put to the test. And the 34-year-old Austrian can focus completely on the driver WRC-ranking since the OMV Peugeot Norway WRT will only compete with one car in Germany and therefore cannot score in the manufacture ranking.

Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor: "During this season I've already proven that I can score on tarmac. And last year in Germany we were extremely close to Sebastien Loeb on several special stages. Furthermore, the fight will be even tighter if rain should set in."

3. BP-Ford

This ninth round can be as unpredictable and demanding as January's opening asphalt encounter in Monte Carlo, which brought a debut victory for Grönholm in a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car. The roads could not be more different than the French Alpine mountain passes, but the changing nature of the speed tests and the ever-present threat of rain in the region could make conditions tricky for the Finn and fellow countryman Hirvonen.

Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "I've been close to winning previously. It won't be easy because Loeb has won four times in Germany and he is good in the slippery conditions that we often find there. It would be good to beat him and shake him up a little. The Focus RS is good enough and now it is up to the driver. We tested in two locations, on Baumholder and in the vineyards, and I have good experience from that."

Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "I think there are many rallies in the second half of the season where I can fight for a podium. BP-Ford is second and still has a chance of the manufacturers' title so I need to score as many points as possible and that will be my target for the rest of the year. I have a chance of a top three in Germany but it won't be easy."

4. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford

The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team this weekend tackles OMV ADAC Rallye Deutschland as the first event back in action since the BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally at the start of June and driver Matthew Wilson can't wait to get back behind the wheel of his Ford Focus RS WRC05 on the diverse tarmac challenge that the German event presents.

Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr: "It's one of the most difficult rallies of the year and I'm glad I came out in July with the BP Ford World Rally Team when they tested as I spent time sat next to Marcus Gronholm. I did the recce for the event last year as well and it's very challenging with the vineyards and the military roads. There are a lot of junctions and a lot of surface changes and I don't want to think what happens if you hit a hinkelstein!"

Jari Mati Latvala says:"I think that this can be a difficult rally because of the weather. I've done it three times before and I like it a lot, but it needs a lot of concentration. You have to be careful as the roads change a lot. On the first and third days you can cut the corners a lot which means there can be a lot of gravel and mud on the road which makes it tricky if it's wet. On the military roads you cannot cut so much, especially with the hinkelstein. The grip is not so good on the military roads, it feels more like a Finnish gravel rally."

5. 555 Subaru

EntriesPetter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills) and Stephane Sarrazin (co-driven by Stephane Prevot) will drive a Subaru Impreza WRC2006 each, while Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn Macneall) will drive a Subaru Australia-entered Impreza WRC2005. Petter Solberg has competed in Germany four times before. Last year the Norwegian achieved his highest finish in the event with seventh overall. Stephane Sarrazin made his WRC debut in Germany in 2004 at the wheel of a privately entered Subaru Impreza and finished a remarkable ninth. Last year the Frenchman claimed eighth position.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: 'This year we've not had such good results on asphalt so the most important thing in Germany will be to progress from our previous form. We had two days of testing in Germany at the end of July and we did find some improvements, which will be very important for us. I do enjoy the rally in itself, despite not having such a great history in the event. It's a reasonably difficult rally for a driver as each Leg has a different character with a different type of asphalt and all of the roads are very dirty and slippery. Saturday's military stages are particularly tough.'

Stephane Sarrazin/Denis Giraudet: 'I made my WRC debut in Rally Germany 2004 so I've got a good feeling about this event. It's a great tarmac event as grip is low, the surface is slippery and the stages are difficult so you've really got to concentrate. I particularly enjoy the second day's Baumholder roads as they're very challenging to drive. Last year we were very quick and it would be a good result if we could finish in the top five this year.'

Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: 'Germany was my first-ever asphalt event in 2005, but this year I'm going back there with a lot more experience. I've got another two Tour de Corse and Rally Catalunyas under my belt, plus Monte Carlo and Ireland. Competing in the Nurburg 24 hours helped too - over a 25km lap, you have lots of opportunity to get the right racing line and think about the set-up. Unfortunately, I've not had an opportunity to do a tarmac test before Germany this year so instead I've been concentrating on fitness, training and relaxing. Our goal for Germany has got to be a good finish, hopefully in the points.'

6. Red Bull-Skoda Team

Red Bull Skoda can look forward to the final four WRC events of this season rather optimistically. The team has prepared very thoroughly for the OMV ADAC Rally Germany, testing very extensively on tarmac in Austria and in Germany. The experience gained in these tests should make it possible to increase the points tally in the World Rally Championship.

Mattias Ekstrom/Jonas Andersson: "I'm well prepared after testing, I now feel comfortable with the car. I'll try to drive fast and make as few mistakes as possible. Then a fair result should be achievable. A WRC point would obviously be a dream."

Andreas Aigner/Timo Gottschalk: "It's the first rally I already know. This certainly won't be a disadvantage. Since I'm very ambitious I'd like to reduce the gap to the front runners to one second per kilometre. This will be my third tarmac event in a WRC. For me it's quite surprising that I've been more successful on this surface than on gravel. In Germany I prefer the narrow passages through the vineyards to, say, the 'Panzerplatte' which is very difficult to master."
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Event Timetable

Leg 1. Friday August 11th. 508.95 km including 134.72 km divided in 8 SS (4 different).

Start from Bostalsee at 8:30. SS1 'Ruwertal/Fell 1' (20.04 km) - SS2 'Dhrontal 1' (12.61 km) - SS3 'Grafschaft Veldenz 1' (17.73 km) - SS4 'Moselwein 1' (16.98 km) -
Regroup Bostalsee (12:56/10 min) - Service A (13:06/30 min) - SS5 'Ruwertal/Fell 2' - SS6 'Dhrontal 2' - SS7 'Grafschaft Veldenz 2' - SS8 'Moselwein 2' - Service B (18:10/flexiservice 45 min) - Cars enter parc ferme (Trier Viehmarkt) at 20:15.

Leg 2. Saturday August 12th. 531.20 km including 148.64 km divided in 7 SS.

Start Trier Viehmarkt at 7:00. Service C (7:55/10 min) - SS9 'Bosenberg 1' (22.52km) - SS10 'Panzerplatte 1' (30.66 km) - Regroup (10:44/10 min) - Service D (10:54/30min) - SS11 'Erzweiler 1' (18.22 km) - SS12 'Panzerplatte 2' - Regroup (13:55/10 min) - Service E (14:05/30 min) - SS13 'Erzweiler 2' - SS14 'Bosenberg 2'- SS15 'St Wendel 1' super special stage (5.84 km) - Service F (18:02/flexi-service 45 min). Cars enter parc ferme (Trier Viehmarkt), at 20:07.

Leg 3. Sunday August 13th. 260.33 km including 68.19 divided in 4 SS.

Start in Trier Viehmarkt at 7:00. Service C (7:55/10 min) - SS16 'Freisen/Westrich 1'
(19.07 km) - SS17 'Birkenfelder Land 1' (13.68 km) - SS18 'St Wendeler Land' (16.37 km) -- SS19 'Freisen/Westrich 2' - Finish of the rally podium in Porta Nigra in Trier from 12:24. __________________________________________________________________

Event Statistics

Created in 1982, a WRC qualifying round since 2002 and renamed the OMV ADAC Rallye Deutschland in 2004, the German event continues to be based in Trier. The total length of the 5th World edition of the 'Deutschland' 1,300.48 km, including 351.55 km divided into 19 stages (11 different). Changes: a completely new stage will be run (Grafschaft Veldenz, SS3/7). Two will be completed in the reversed direction compared to 2005 (Moselwein, SS4/8 and St Wendel, SS15). The others either remain strictly identical or will be slightly modified on some short sections. The Porta Nigra, the monument built by the Romans in the 4th Century BC, will again serve as backdrop for the start ceremony (Thursday August 10th, 20:00) and for the
podium ceremony (Sunday August 13th, 12:24).

As in previous years, the Bostalsee Leisure Centre hosts the single service park, as
well as the actual start. However: the parc ferme after Leg 1 (Friday evening) and Leg 2 (Saturday evening) will be in Trier (Viehmarkt) as well as the actual finish in Porta Nigra.

Recce (two passes through each stage at 90 km/h max) is scheduled for Tuesday August 8th (8:30 until 20:00) and Wednesday August 9th (08:00 until 16:00). Shakedown (Thursday August 10th, 08:00 until 12:00) uses the same 3.17km stage
employed since 2003 which runs between the villages of Sötern and Bosen, near the
Bostalsee service park.

The OMV ADAC Rallye Deutschland is paired to the Neste Finland Rally planned the
following week of the German event. Chassis and engine are also paired and must be used in Finland as well.

Tyres: a maximum of two tread patterns are authorised. The barcode references of the tyres that make up individual driver quotas (a maximum of 70, of which 45 may be used during the event) had to be registered by August 7th.

Each driver may have a safety crew which is authorised to cover each stage once in
accordance with a timetable specified by the Race Direction.

Leaderboard after Leg One:

1.  S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen Xsara 1hr 20min 35.0sec
2.  D Sordo/M Marti E Citroen Xsara 1hr 21min 17.7sec
3.  T Gardemeister/J Honkanen FIN Citroen Xsara 1hr 22min 41.0sec
4.  M Grönholm/T Rautiainen FIN Ford Focus RS 1hr 22min 46.4sec
5.  P Solberg/P Mills N Subaru Impreza 1hr 22min 58.1sec
6.  M Stohl/I Minor A Peugeot 307 1hr 23min 04.4sec
7.  M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 1hr 23min 23.6sec
8.  A Aigner/K Wicha A Skoda Fabia 1hr 23min 30.5sec
9.  C Atkinson/G MacNeall AUS Subaru Impreza 1hr 23min 45.7sec
10 S Sarrazin/S Prévot F Subaru Impreza 1hr 24min 18.6sec

Leg One News

Team-mates Sébastien Loeb and Dani Sordo (both Citroen) dominated the leg. Loeb, a four time winner here, won five stages while Sordo claimed three as Loeb ended with a 42.7sec lead over the Spaniard.  Private entrant Toni Gardemeister (Citroen) excelled in the rain to steadily climb the leaderboard into third.  Petter Solberg (Subaru) held fifth, a remarkable position considering the Norwegian crashed heavily in the final shakedown test yesterday morning.  Mechanics only finished rebuilding his car at 03.30 this morning.  Manfred Stohl (Peugeot) rounded off the top six, despite a bad tyre choice this afternoon.  François Duval (Skoda) was sixth until the Belgian hit a tree and damaged his car's suspension on the penultimate stage.  He didn't start the final test.  The other major retirement was Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford), who crashed on the opening stage.

1. Kronos Total Citroen

At the end of leg one through the vineyards of the Mosel, Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Dani Sordo/Marc Marti return to Trier at the head of the field. The two Kronos Total Citroen WRT Xsaras are on fighting form for tomorrow's battle through the Baumholder military ranges. Xevi Pons/Carlos Del Barrio were less happy, coming home tonight in 11th place.

Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "We had some good information and made the right choices : a fantastic job from everyone in the team. Dani has driven very well, but we've managed to pull out a gap. Nonetheless, we are going to remain concentrated in order not to make the slightest mistake tomorrow - either at the wheel or in our tyre choice.

Dani Sordo/Marc Marti: "The team has given me a fantastic car - a Xsara that is easy to drive and gave me confidence even in the tricky conditions that we encountered. Seb is in his rightful place : he is the quickest here. But my second place makes me very happy : the team asked me to try and score the maximum possible number of points. I am going to do everything I can in order to try and achieve that goal."

Xavier Pons/Carlos Del Barrio: "We got off to a good start on the right tyres. But our 'off' on SS4 interrupted the flow a bit. On the second loop, we decided to take a different tyre choice to our team mates and opted for intermediates. Unfortunately, we weren't able to take advantage of them during the downpour on SS7 and in the dry conditions of SS8. Tomorrow we have just one aim in mind: getting back up the leaderboard !"

2. OMV-Peugeot Norway

Manfred Stohl and Ilka Minor have delivered their masterpiece on the first day of the OMV ADAC Rallye. While, in previous years, they had scarce chances for a top rank after the first stages of the event, the fifth edition of the OMV ADAC Rallye has turned the tables. After eight of 19 special stages, they hold the splendid 6th place. Even more of an achievement, since the 34 year old Austrian was punished by fate. Twice he went for the wrong tyre choice.

Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor:  "The new parts have done a great job. Bozian Racing has prepared a perfect Peugeot 307 WRC. I can rely on my car doing what I want it to do. Today we have seen, that there is much to be gained. With the exemption of Loeb and Sordo, all others are within fighting distance."

3. BP-Ford

BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen ended the opening leg of Rallye Deutschland in fourth after a day dominated by tyre choice in the inconsistent weather. Their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car lies just 5.4sec from a top three placing with two days remaining of this ninth round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen are seventh in a similar Focus RS.

Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "The rain this afternoon was incredible. The forecast said it would be dry after lunch so I chose hard, dry weather tyres and I couldn't do anything apart from try to stay on the road.  I took it easy in the rain but found it hard to get my confidence and rhythm back when it stopped.  It's difficult to choose tyres when the weather changes so quickly and we made a mistake this afternoon.  But there are still many kilometres remaining and tomorrow's stages won't be easy for anyone so we will see what happens then."

Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "Today was unreal and I hate this weather. The grip changed all the time and I'm just not used to these conditions with this car.  My day was typified by stage seven.  Five minutes before I started it was dry and sunny.  It poured with rain as I started the stage and then a few hundred metres after the finish the roads were dry again! Hard tyres in heavy rain just don't work and it shows the importance of getting the tyre choice right.  I hope the weather will be better tomorrow because if it is as wet as it has been today, then the stages will be
incredibly slippery."

4. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford

The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team endured a trying first day to OMV ADAC Rallye Deutschland with treacherous wet weather conditions making the Mosel vineyard stages a virtual ice rink at times and tyre choice all the more crucial.

Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr: "It was an unbelievable day, very difficult. The first stage was so slippery as it was very wet and there was gravel kicked out on the stage from the cars in front, making it very tricky. The next two stages were difficult as they are under trees and it's difficult to know where was wet at that point and where had dried out. Then in the fourth stage a turbo pipe came apart after we landed coming up to a left hander about 2km into the stage so we couldn't go through at full pace."

Jari Mati Latvala says: "I was driving at a safe speed, it was very slippery so I was being quite sensible. It was a fast downhill section and I braked early but at the end of the braking zone it was like ice and we went straight on into the barrier. It was the same section where Marcus, Mikko and Gareth McHale hit the barrier but they managed to grab the handbrake in time and hit the back of their cars. We went straight on and hit the front and were stranded under the barrier. The damage is not so bad and we are both fine as the speed was not that high, but although the damage is not so bad the car has to be all ready for Finland so we will have to see what happens. It is the most important rally for me and to have a problem so early is not good. There is something not right in my head perhaps."

5. 555 Subaru

Petter Solberg leads the Subaru challenge after today's first Leg of Rally Germany. The Norwegian lies fifth overall thanks largely to the team's technicians who worked through the night to repair his car after he crashed at the pre-event shakedown test. The Norwegian left service this morning in a near-immaculate car that performed faultlessly throughout the day. Chris Atkinson's confidence on wet asphalt increased throughout the Leg and the Australian ended the day in ninth place. Stephane Sarrazin struggled with wildly changing weather conditions that never seemed to suit his tyres. He finished the Leg tenth.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "I started this morning just happy to be able to drive at all, but in fact the day has been pretty good. The rain is the main thing; some drivers have been extremely fortunate with the way it fell, some of us have not! I feel that we have done a good progression with the car, but obviously our tyre choices let us down and we weren't able to gather much information from the last three stages as the rain just poured down.Tomorrow I'll try hard and do what I can. I think a podium finish is possible; we just have to get the tyre choices right."

Stephane Sarrazin/Denis Giraudet: "Not great.This morning I had wet tyres for roads that turned out to be dry, and this afternoon a slick tyre for roads that were mainly wet. Unfortunately, the wild weather meant I had the wrong tyre all of the time. My worst moment was on SS7, I spun and lost about 20 seconds, the road was fully wet and on the slick tyre it was unbelievably slippery.Tomorrow, my wish is that I have the right tyres for the right conditions!"

Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "Not a bad day.I had a reasonable tyre call this afternoon but unfortunately we still got caught out a bit by the weather. On the afternoon loop we were at the back of the running order and it absolutely poured down.We lost some time there, and even through we were better that everyone around us, the guys with a clean run were much faster. But we're ninth now, and not too far away from sixth really, we've been competitive with our team mates and that's what we wanted to do."

6. Red Bull-Skoda Team

In the morning of the first day, a strong upward trend for Red Bull Skoda was already beginning to show compared to the past rallies. After four stages, Andreas Aigner was seventh and Mattias Ekstrom fifteenth. In the afternoon, Andreas Aigner even managed a fifth-best time on SS5, subsequently he finished in eleventh, tenth and seventh. Overall this adds up to P8:

Mattias Ekstrom/Jonas Andersson: It was incredibly difficult to drive. The very changeable track conditions caused a lot of hairy situations. I only get used to the circumstances slowly, but I'll continue to stand by my policy tomorrow - 'learning by doing'."

Andreas Aigner/Timo Gottschalk: "This has been the best day in my rally career so far. The right tyre choice throughout and the experience gained in extensive testing helped me a lot. Now I've plenty of self-confidence for tomorrow, I'll go confidently into the tough 'Panzerplatte' stages."

Leaderboard after Leg Two:

1.  S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen Xsara 2hr 47min 53.5sec
2.  D Sordo/M Marti E Citroen Xsara 2hr 48min 27.8sec
3.  M Grönholm/T Rautiainen FIN Ford Focus RS 2hr 50min 07.6sec
4.  T Gardemeister/J Honkanen FIN Citroen Xsara 2hr 50min 33.3sec
5.  M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 2hr 50min 49.9sec
6.  M Stohl/I Minor A Peugeot 307 2hr 51min 13.5sec
7.  A Aigner/K Wicha A Skoda Fabia 2hr 52min 35.6sec
8.  S Sarrazin/S Prévot F Subaru Impreza 2hr 52min 48.2sec
9.  J Kopecky/F Schovanek CZ Skoda Fabia 2hr 53min 05.2sec
10 C Atkinson/G MacNeall AUS Subaru Impreza 2hr 53min 16.6sec

Leg Two News

Sébastien Loeb and Dani Sordo (both Citroen) continue to head the leaderboard but were not as dominant today and won only one stage each.  The young Spaniard beat Loeb on all the first four stages and the Frenchman's first leg lead of 42.7sec was reduced to 34.3sec.  Toni Gardemeister (Citroen) struggled for grip and could not hold off Grönholm while Hirvonen also closed in. Manfred Stohl (Peugeot) rounded off the top six, despite clutch and gearbox problems.  Stéphane Sarrazin and Chris Atkinson (both Subaru) were caught out by the weather this afternoon when both chose intermediate tyres on roads that turned out to be dry.  They are eighth and 10th.  Mattias Ekström (Skoda) fell off the leaderboard when he dropped four minutes with transmission troubles and a broken driveshaft on the final loop cost another four minutes.  Petter Solberg (Subaru) retired from fifth with engine failure on the opening stage and will not restart tomorrow.  Xavi Pons (Citroen) retired with gearbox troubles in service after stage 12. There has been a clear winner of the day: Jan Kopecky in his CRT Skoda Fabia WRC. Before and after the Panzerplatte loop there has been a "normal" Saarland asphalt stage, Bosenberg. And Kopecky seems to cope especially well with this stage, as he won it both times!

1. Kronos Total Citroen

At the end of leg two, run largely through the Baumholder military ranges, Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Dani Sordo/Marc Marti have a firm grip on first and second places. Xevi Pons/Carlos Del Barrio were forced to retire after SS12 with a hydraulic problem. They will restart tomorrow morning under the 'superally' regulations.

Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena:  "Dani was very quick this morning in tricky conditions. This afternoon we were thinking more about the championships. Maintaining our positions would be extremely positive both for Kronos and ourselves, before we go to face Marcus Grönholm on his home territory in Finland. We have to beextremely careful on the final leg now, where the weather could make life very complicated."

Dani Sordo/Marc Marti:  "We just drove calmly. I really hope I can seal this second place tomorrow. A result like that would be fantastic for me and would fulfil exactly what the team asked."

Xavier Pons/Carlos Del Barrio: "Tomorrow we will start again in order to try and finish this rally on a positive note by setting some quick times."

2. OMV-Peugeot Norway

Manfred Stohl and Ilka Minor are pleased with the second day of the OMV ADAC Rallye. For a short time even in fifth place the OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team was then overtaken by Mikko Hirvonen. 6th place remains the best intermediate place at the OMV ADAC Rallye nevertheless. The 34-year-old Austrian is determined to attack once more on Sunday.

Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor:  Stohl didn't face many problems on Saturday. Only at the "Panzerplatte" he had to switch from wheel switch to manual shift after 15 of 30 kilometres. The loss of time was minimal. The real problem presented itself at the regrouping before entering the service area, when the clutch of the Peugeot 307 WRC failed. Stohl/Minor did a makeshift repair of the hydraulic line and finally were able to make it to the service area. There the clutch was exchanged. Stohl: "My heart skipped a beat. Under normal circumstances you can't do a makeshift repair on these cars. We were lucky to manage it." In the afternoon, events were repeating themselves. The car wouldn't start at the regrouping. It was pushed through the time control at the last possible moment. Soon thereafter the ignition worked once again. After finishing the OMV circuit in St. Wendel in 4th place, the OMV Duo Stohl/Minor finished the second day in 6th place.

3. BP-Ford

BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen won two speed tests as they climbed to third during the second leg of Rallye Deutschland today. Their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car excelled on the mainly dry asphalt roads of south-west Germany as the Finns chase their fourth podium finish in the five-year history of the rally. Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen were also in winning form on this ninth round of the FIA World Rally Championship.  They claimed one special stage victory as they moved into fifth in their similar BP Ultimate and Castrol-branded Focus RS.

Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "We swapped the settings back to those we used on the pre-event test, which was dry, and the car felt good. It's just in the wet that I'm struggling because I don't have the confidence.  I need to practise driving in the wet to find the right set-up for this car, but there hasn't been much rain this summer to do that.  It has been so much better in the dry today.  Slick tyres in the rain are just not for me.

Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen:  "I will try to catch Toni tomorrow but the key factor will again be tyres and everyone will be nervous.  I'm not sure I can catch him if we both make the same tyre choice because there are not enough kilometres remaining but if we take different options then it's possible,"

4. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford

The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team vaulted up the order in the second day of OMV ADAC Rallye Deutschland with a dry day's running in the challenging military ranges enabling Matthew Wilson to jump up the leaderboard by 17 places through the course of the event's second leg to home in for a top ten placing in the ninth round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr: "It gelled better today and I had a good feeling for the stages as we had consistency, we're going alright in the car. We did nothing silly today as we just wanted a good clean run. We had fun in the Super Special as there were lots of British flags so we were fully sideways the whole way round. It wasn't fast but it was certainly spectacular."

Jari Mati Latvala says: "The aim now is to get to the end as we cannot have a good result because of Friday. In stage 13 we had a problem at one corner where we came down hard and the car stopped. We got out to check the car but there wasn't anything wrong so we got back in and started up to finish the stage with no more problems The car is good, the set-up is good the only thing we need to improve for the rest of the stages today is the driving."

5. 555 Subaru

At the end of the second Leg of competition in Germany, Subaru's Stephane Sarrazin holds eighth place overall and leads the Subaru World Rally Team's challenge. The Frenchman moved up two places on the leaderboard during the day and set the third-fastest time on the Leg's final special stage.Chris Atkinson made steady progress through the notoriously difficult Baumholder stages to end the day tenth overall. After an encouraging performance on Leg one, Petter Solberg's Rallye Deutschland came to a premature end in the first stage today when an engine problem forced his retirement.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "Things started well today, but without any warning, when we were flat out in sixth gear on SS9, the engine made some pretty bad noises, stopped and that was it. There are still some positives to take from this rally though. We have made some good improvements with the car and when we had the right tyre for the conditions we were quick. I think in general we have taken a good step forward over the summer.We're planning for Finland now.It's a rally that I like a lot and I think it will be a very interesting event this year."

Stephane Sarrazin/Denis Giraudet: "Today has been better than yesterday.I've had a trouble-free run and I'm here with the car in one piece. This morning we made a mistake with the tyre - we thought it would be wet but it was dry.In those circumstances it was difficult to push as hard as we wanted.But in the afternoon we had a more suitable tyre, increased the pace and set better times."

Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "Overall the day has been good.It's a shame we gave away some time on the first stage, when we didn't have such a good feeling in the car, but things improved steadily after that. The Baumholder stage was pretty tough, the surface was loose in places and it's hard to judge the grip levels - especially on slicks.Skating along the road in fifth gear, centimetres from those Hinkelsteins is not ideal! But on the last stage out in the fields (SS14) we did a pretty good time. Tomorrow we'll do what we can, I'm looking forward to the smoother roads of Leg three; they should suit us better."

6. Red Bull-Skoda Team

The second day of the OMV ADAC Rally in Germany was a rough ordeal for drivers and cars. The Baumholder stages including the 'Panzerplatte' attracted multitudes of spectators, who were enthralled by the performances of rallying's best.

Mattias Ekstrom/Jonas Andersson: The Swede broke the upper part of a damper on SS12, although this was later fixed in time during service: "Afterwards the right front drive shaft broke on the road section to SS13. We picked up 1:30 minutes of penalty time because we arrived late at the following time control. Obviously we lost even more time because of the mechanical problem itself, we had to complete three more stages without service. Nevertheless we'll try and improve our current position."

Andreas Aigner/Timo Gottschalk:  "Of course we constantly felt the pressure from behind. Additionally we had three tyre failures where even the mousse leaked, and then we lost another 15 seconds when I stalled the engine in a corner. I just hope that I can keep Sarrazin, Kopecky and Atkinson at bay tomorrow."

Final Leaderboard:

1.  S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen Xsara 3hr 28min 34.1sec
2.  D Sordo/M Marti E Citroen Xsara 3hr 29min 07.9sec
3.  M Grönholm/T Rautiainen FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 30min 53.3sec
4.  T Gardemeister/J Honkanen FIN Citroen Xsara 3hr 31min 07.9sec
5.  M Stohl/I Minor A Peugeot 307 3hr 33min 00.0sec
6.  A Aigner/K Wicha A Skoda Fabia 3hr 34min 16.7sec
7.  J Kopecky/F Schovanek CZ Skoda Fabia 3hr 34min 19.9sec
8.  C Atkinson/G MacNeall AUS Subaru Impreza 3hr 35min 59.1sec
9.  M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 36min 59.8sec
10 G MacHale/G Nagle IRL Ford Focus RS 3hr 41min 30.2sec

Final Leg News

Sébastien Loeb (Citroen) claimed his sixth victory of the year, leading home team-mate Dani Sordo by 33.8sec.  The Frenchman became the first driver to win a full championship event for five consecutive seasons and moved level with Carlos Sainz at the top of the WRC win list with 26 victories.  Toni Gardemeister (Citroen) launched a determined challenge to catch Grönholm, winning three stages, but the Ford driver controlled his pace to maintain third.  Austria's Manfred Stohl (Peugeot) took fifth while Andreas Aigner (Skoda) claimed his first ever driver points in sixth, despite going off 3km before the end of the last stage.

1. Kronos Total Citroen

The two Kronos Total Citroen WRT Xsaras got through the four stages of the final day without the slightest problem. Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena won the Rallye Deutschland for the fifth consecutive time, becoming the first crew ever to achieve such a feat on the full World Championship. Their excellent win, after a rally which they dominated from the start, is the 26th in total for the Franco-Monegasque pairing. Seb now joins Carlos Sainz as the most successful driver in the history of the sport.

Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "I love the Rallye Deutschland and it has always been good to me. But it's fair to say that the traditionally complex weather makes it quite a stressful experience. There was a bit of extra pressure on top as well : I had to make sure I made no mistakes on my home territory and score the maximum number of points for the championship. Now it's over and I can relax a bit ! I want to really savour the feeling of equalling Carlos Sainz's record number of wins. I've never hidden the fact that this is a record I really wanted, because of the immense respect I have for Carlos and his career. Yet it's still a benchmark I want to beat."

Dani Sordo/Marc Marti: "Marc Van Dalen and the entire Kronos team showed a lot of faith in me by nominating  me to score points. I am really pleased to thank them by bringing back the maximum possible number of points. I'm also really pleased to see that my pace notes - made last year when I was driving the C2 Super 1600 - worked perfectly. I'd like to thank Marc [Marti] who has always pushed me to get my notes absolutely right. Finally, I'd like to thank Seb. He has been incredibly good to me, and his advice on tyres and setup is a huge help."

2. OMV-Peugeot Norway

Manfred Stohl and Ilka Minor have conquered the curse of Germany. The OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team finished in excellent 5th place at the homerally. That is the best result of the 34-year-old Austrian at a tarmac rally in the World Championship. With this result, the OMV Team Stohl/Minor advanced to 4th place in the FIA Rally Championship driver ranking, with a score of 24 points.

Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor: "I'm very happy, that we were able to deliver a good performance in Germany this year. The OMV ADAC Rallye is a very difficult competition, you are forced to constantly test your limits. The line between success and defeat is very thin. Our successful tests in the run-up were crucial. My Peugeot 307 WRC was perfectly prepared for this rally by Bozian Racing."

3. BP-Ford

BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen finished third on the Rallye Deutschland today to claim their fourth podium in five years here. It was the sixth occasion the Finns have claimed a top three finish this season in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, and they remain second in the FIA World Rally Championship after nine of 16 rounds. Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen finished ninth in a similar BP Ultimate and Castrol-branded Focus RS, after a last-gasp drama when the Finns stopped with a broken alternator on the liaison section to the finish in Trier after the final stage.  Hirvonen would have finished fifth but the five minute penalty incurred for being helped to the finish cost four driver points.

Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "A podium is a good, solid finish and after a difficult rally I have to be happy with that," he said.  "But I had hoped to be fighting with the Citroen of Sébastien Loeb for victory rather than the similar car of Gardemeister for third.  But I wasn't happy in the rain on Friday and so there was no chance of that.  I was a little bit slow on the first stage this morning but then I found my pace and it was just a question of keeping an eye on Toni's stage times.

Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "I started to have battery problems on the stages because the alternator wasn't charging any more," he said.  "Then the car stopped and there was no power in the battery to get moving.  After everything that has happened this weekend, I just can't believe this.  I've lost driver points and a manufacturer point and that's a big shame.  My Saturday performance was very good but on Friday I was off the pace in the wet weather.  It has been a tough weekend and now my thoughts are focused on my home rally next weekend where I hope my luck will be better."

4. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford

No information available.

5. 555 Subaru

Chris Atkinson crossed the finish ramp of Rally Germany in eighth place today to score one driver point. Despite limited experience of the specialist asphalt rally, the Australian drove swiftly and consistently all weekend to record his best ever finish on the event. His Impreza WRC2005 ran faultlessly throughout. For Stephane Sarrazin the rally came to a premature end following an accident on the first stage of the Leg.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: Retired - Engine

Stephane Sarrazin/Denis Giraudet: "It's very frustrating. I was anticipating a good fight for seventh place today and, after yesterday, I was feeling positive about the car and my driving. We were less than one kilometre into the stage when we went off. I just under-steered straight on at a slow, second-gear corner. Spectators helped push the car back on the road, but unfortunately I couldn't continue"

Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "Today was okay. We came here hoping to get in the points, and we got there in the end. The first stage was quite good for us, although the brakes didn't feel so good on the second and caused us to have a small spin. As we weren't in a position to fight for any more places, we took it fairly steadily over the final two. Generally it's been a useful rally for us. I'm looking forward to getting back in a 2006 model Impreza for Finland."

6. Red Bull-Skoda Team

The OMV ADAC Rally Germany in Trier, which ended today in wet conditions, brought Red Bull Skoda the best result in this year's world championship so far.

Mattias Ekstrom/Jonas Andersson: "I've learned a lot here. Rallying, especially in changing weather conditions such as these, is tremendous. Right now, the DTM with Audi is on top of my agenda, of course, but if another chance to drive a rally presents itself, I will take it again."

Andreas Aigner/Timo Gottschalk:  "I had been 19.3 seconds ahead of the pursuing Jan Kopecky (Skoda) prior to the final stage. Three corners before the end of the final SS I slid off the road, lost some time and was just able to finish 3.2 seconds ahead of the Czech. I can be more than happy with the result. Of the 19 stages in total I was able to post top ten times on 15 of them, this pleases me the most. I want to thank the team and especially Klaus. Now I just wish that we will be able to continue just as well in the remaining rallies in Cyprus, Turkey and Wales."