Germany WRC: Mikkelsen maintains lead, Paddon survives off
Volkswagen's Andreas Mikkelsen continues to lead Rally Germany at the end of SS4, with Thierry Neuville keeping second.
Andreas Mikkelsen, Anders Jäger, Volkswagen Polo WRC, Volkswagen Motorsport
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Having led the morning loop, Mikkelsen topped the third stage ahead of Neuville, and while the Norwegian was only fourth in SS4, he maintains an overall lead of 2.9s over the Hyundai driver.
Mikkelsen's lead over Neuville is up by a mere 0.2s from the morning's loop, despite Neuville taking time from Mikkelsen in SS4.
"I spun in a very tight hairpin right," Neuville said. "I lost, I guess, five seconds. The handbrake turn was nice but I caught a front wheel on the inside and that spun us around."
Ogier, after winning SS4, remained third in the standings, 4.7s from Mikkelsen, gaining about two seconds from morning's time, with Dani Sordo also keeping fourth.
The leading Ford of Ott Tanak was fifth, 49.9s off the lead, with the Citroen DS3 of Stephane Lefebvre holding a strong sixth.
Mads Ostberg in the second Ford finished seventh ahead of Hyundai's Hayden Paddon, who survived a big off in SS3, damaging his front and rear panels heavily.
"A big moment - I was lucky to get away with it. We were fast downhill in sixth and went off onto the grass - then back the other way, and back again," he said.
"It's the biggest moment I've had and got away with. We are lucky to be here."
Armin Kremer in the Skoda crossed the line ninth overall, leading the WRC2 category, with Esapekka Lappi completing the top 10.
Overall results after SS4 - Top 10:
Pos | Driver | Car | Time | Gap |
1. | Andreas Mikkelsen | Volkswagen | 55:01.9 | |
2. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | 55:04.8 | +2.9 |
3. | Sebastien Ogier | Volkswagen | 55:06.6 | +4.7 |
4. | Dani Sordo | Hyundai | 55:13.2 | +11.3 |
5. | Ott Tanak | Ford | 55:51.8 | +49.9 |
6. | Stephane Lefebvre | Citroen | 55:59.7 | +57.8 |
7. | Mads Ostberg | Ford | 56:26.4 | +1:24.5 |
8. | Hayden Paddon | Hyundai | 56:40.3 | +1:38.4 |
9. | Armin Kremer | Skoda | 57:46.7 | +2:44.8 |
10. | Esapekka Lappi | Skoda | 58:14.2 | +3:12.3 |
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