

2024.11.06 Hyundai Motorsport Team
The Central European Rally is a fresh addition to the WRC calendar, introduced last year to fill the gap left by the departures of the French and German rallies from the schedule. Conceived as a cross-border event spanning two or three countries, it’s an ambitious attempt to create a major tarmac rally. Unlike circuit racing, rallying takes place on open roads across wide areas, so proper testing is essential. The WRC vets new events by testing them at local rallies or through preliminary events, as was the case here.
The Central European Rally is based on the historic 3-City Rally (3-Städte-Rallye), an event centered around Munich in Germany, Vienna in Austria, and Budapest in Hungary. This rally has a long history, dating back to 1963. After Croatia, the Central European Rally became the season’s second tarmac event (the Monte Carlo Rally is also on tarmac but is classified as mixed due to ice and snow). As it did last year, the event spanned Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic.
Unlike last year, when the rally headquarters was set in Passau, Germany, near the Austrian border, with the opening ceremony in Prague, this year’s base moved about 30 km southwest to Karpfham. Thursday kicked off with a Super Special Stage at Velká Chuchle near Prague, followed by an entire day of racing in the Czech Republic on Friday. Saturday and Sunday saw action across the German-Austrian border region, with the podium ceremony once again held in Passau, Germany.
Hyundai Motorsport, looking to clinch the Drivers’ Championship, fielded Thierry Neuville, Ott Tänak, and Andreas Mikkelsen. Neuville needed to gain at least two more points than Tänak to secure the title, while Tänak aimed to keep the gap within 30 points to maintain his title hopes going into the final round. According to the system, the maximum a driver can earn in one rally is 30 points (18 for the stages, 7 for Super Sunday, and 5 for the Power Stage).
For Andreas Mikkelsen, this was his fourth event of the season, following appearances in Monte Carlo, Croatia (Round 4), and Poland (Round 7). Esapekka Lappi, who previously competed in Sweden, Kenya, Latvia, Finland, and Chile, has now completed his season. Lappi’s co-driver, Janne Ferm, has also decided to step away from the WRC.
Toyota brought back Elfyn Evans, Sébastien Ogier, and Takamoto Katsuta as their point-scoring drivers. Although Toyota intended for Ogier, their highest-ranked part-time driver, to compete in the latter half of the season, his performance in Chile effectively ended his championship hopes. However, the manufacturer’s title remains within reach. Newcomer Sami Pajari also drove a fourth Yaris but did not contribute to team points.
M-Sport Ford prepared three Pumas for the event, with Adrien Fourmaux and Grégoire Munster competing for points. Greek veteran Jourdan Serderidis drove a non-hybrid Puma Rally1.
In WRC2, a total of 20 cars entered, including 15 registered for championship points. Current leader Peter Solberg chose to participate in the Central European Rally, even though points weren’t a concern for him. For Yohan Rossel, who trails by 12 points, this event was a crucial battle in his bid for the title.
This year’s Central European Rally stages saw significant changes from last year. After Thursday’s ceremonial start in Prague, participants kicked off the action with a short 2.55 km stage at a racetrack south of the city. SS2, held west of Klatovy, returned this year but with a different layout.
In the opening stage, Neuville clipped an obstacle, damaging his car’s right fender and wing parts. Ogier set the fastest time in the opener, followed by Katsuta and Mikkelsen. Despite the aerodynamic disadvantage, Neuville managed to claim SS2, ending Thursday in second overall. Ogier finished the day in the lead, with Neuville just 0.9 seconds behind him. The rest of the standings included Mikkelsen, Katsuta, Tänak, Fourmaux, Evans, Pajari, and Munster.
Reflecting on the incident, Neuville explained, "I can't be happy to be honest, I took off the aero in the front right by stupidly touching a straw bale. I didn't know but it will handicap me for the whole morning tomorrow. Even here, we touched some, but we have nothing to lose anymore, it is gone already."
On Friday, the drivers continued through stages in the Czech Republic. The day opened with SS3 in Klatovy, a repeat of SS2 from the previous day. This was followed by SS4, the rally’s longest stage at 26.69 km in Strašín. They then moved further south to tackle the 16.85 km Šumavské Hoštice stage before returning to Klatovy to complete the morning loop. After a regroup and tire fitting, the drivers repeated these two stages, wrapping up a total of 110.64 km for the day. Morning visibility was heavily impacted by dense fog, and the roads, covered in damp leaves, proved to be extremely slippery.
In the opening Klatovy stage, Ogier led a strong Toyota trio, but Neuville, despite his compromised aerodynamics, managed to hold second overall. Neuville, who clocked the second-fastest time in SS4, commented, "I had no feeling for the grip, I was understeering massively throug the stage.” Tänak, who was 2.4 seconds slower than Neuville, added, "Not so many surprises any more. Somehow I struggle with the car.Very challenging conditions.”
In SS5, he went off course and hit a post, severely damaging his car. His setup for stable understeer, due to limited adaptation time, backfired. A red flag was issued, temporarily halting the event, and drivers after Fourmaux were all given the same time of 10 minutes.
In SS5, Tänak recorded the fastest time, while Neuville moved into the overall lead. He continued to extend his gap over Ogier in SS7. By the end of Friday, Neuville led the standings, followed by Ogier, Tänak, and Evans. In WRC2, Nikolay Gryazin overtook Solberg to secure 9th place overall.
Saturday’s action began with the 20.05 km Granit und Wald stage, followed by the all-new 24.33 km “Beyond Borders” stage, which spanned from Germany to Austria. The 17.35 km Schärdinger Innviertel stage followed, with these three stages repeated in the afternoon, totaling 123.46 km for SS9 to SS14. Starting order resumed with Friday’s retirees, beginning with Mikkelsen, followed by Serderidis and Munster in the Rally1 lower ranks. Though crossing borders, the conditions remained challenging with dense fog, wet leaves, and slick roads.
Mikkelsen once again went off course in the opening SS9, though this time he safely rejoined after driving through a grassy area. He commented, “Changing grip all the time. I touched the rear left on the grass and it spun me around ."
Fourmaux also veered off the course, running into the forest. When cars leave the narrow road and reach the grassy areas with little grip, it’s difficult to return quickly. Tänak recorded the fastest time on the opening stage, narrowing the gap with leader Neuville to just 0.8 seconds.
In SS10, Evans set the fastest time, while Fourmaux lost time spinning and replacing a tire. With Tänak dropping to third, Neuville held onto the lead, closely followed by Ogier, just two seconds behind. During SS11, Neuville lost significant time when he went off the road on an uphill corner, becoming stuck in a ditch and costing him around 40 seconds—taking his title hopes for the weekend off the table.
Afterward, Neuville explained, "Obviously there is disappointment for sure, but the rally isn't over and tomorrow is an exciting day. We paid the price, it was mistake in the recce for the pace note, even now the note was slower and it was still too fast. I didn't see it last night as well, a bit disappointed about that but it is what it is."
Ogier took the lead as Neuville fell back, while Tänak clocked the top time in SS12, closing the gap with Ogier to just 1.1 seconds. However, Ogier responded in SS13 and SS14, ending Saturday as the leader with a 5.2-second margin over Tänak, who was followed by Evans, 8.8 seconds behind. Neuville dropped to fourth, trailing Evans by 25.8 seconds, with Katsuta, Pajari, Munster, Gryazin, and Solberg following.
On Sunday, the final two stages were set entirely in Germany. Drivers repeated the 12.17 km Knaus Tabbert Am Hochwald and 14.87 km Passauer Land stages, totaling 54.08 km, where tire choice was critical. Fourmaux, Neuville, and Tänak opted for four soft tires and one hard, while Mikkelsen went with all hard tires, and Ogier, Evans, and Pajari chose three hard and two soft tires.
Mikkelsen lost another two minutes with a puncture in the opening stage but fared better than Pajari, who retired after a rollover. Despite posting only the fifth-best time, Tänak was quicker than Ogier, taking over the overall lead with a margin of 1.9 seconds. In SS16, serving as a warm-up for the Power Stage, Katsuta set the fastest time. Tänak maintained his lead, but Ogier closed the gap to just 1.5 seconds.
In SS17, a major upset occurred as Ogier, who was neck-and-neck with Tänak for the lead, crashed into a utility pole, rendering his car undrivable. Unable to finish, Ogier’s points accumulated up to Saturday were rendered void—a devastating blow to Toyota’s Manufacturer’s Championship hopes. Evans inherited second place and set the fastest time on the stage, but still trailed Tänak by 9.4 seconds. Neuville moved up to third, securing a spot on the podium. Meanwhile, with hybrid issues, Mikkelsen decided to save his tires for a last shot at Power Stage points.
Tänak lifted the Central European Rally trophy after completing SS18, marking his second win of the season following his Italian triumph. Evans took second place, while Neuville’s third-place finish secured a double podium for Hyundai. Behind them were Katsuta, Munster, Gryazin, and Solberg. With the gap between Neuville and Tänak narrowing to 25 points, the Drivers’ Championship showdown now moves to the final round in Japan. Although Neuville has a significant advantage, Japan’s tight, technical roads leave no room for error, making the final outcome unpredictable.
In the Manufacturers’ standings, Toyota outscored Hyundai despite lower placements, thanks to strong Super Sunday and Power Stage performances by Evans and Katsuta. The points gap between the two teams is now down to just 15, leaving the title race wide open. The season-ending Japan Rally, held in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, from November 21–24, will be decisive. In 2022, Neuville and Tänak took a 1-2 finish here, while last year Evans, Ogier, and Kalle Rovanperä sought redemption on these roads. This year, both championship titles will be decided here.
By Su-jin Lee
In 1991, Lee’s passion for cars led him to enthusiastically write letters to the newly launched Korean car magazine Car Vision. This unexpected connection led him to start his career as an automotive journalist. He has served as editor and editorial board member for Car Vision and Automobile Life, and now works as an automotive critic. While eagerly covering the latest trends like electric vehicles, connected cars, and autonomous driving technology, he is also a car enthusiast who secretly hopes that the smell of gasoline engines will never disappear.
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