Ogier found an excellent rhythm on the Beyond Borders stage, which was run for the second time today, and posted a brilliant stage-winning time.
Ogier beat Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville by just 0.9 seconds. Hyundai’s Ott Tänak, on the other hand, lost exactly three seconds to the Frenchman’s pace.
“We had to respond to Ott’s previous stage. Now it was our turn to be fast on this stage,” Ogier commented at the stage finish.
“This was quite a circuit-like stage, and I don’t have a car for that right now. We’ll keep pushing,” Tänak remarked in turn.
In the overall standings, Ogier was able to extend his lead over Tänak, who is currently in second place. The gap between the two is now 4.1 seconds.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans was the fourth fastest on the stage, trailing Ogier’s leading time by 3.9 seconds. In the overall standings, the Welshman remains in fourth place and is now 12 seconds behind the leader.
Thierry Neuville, chasing the world championship, is still in fourth. However, he is now 37.7 seconds behind the leader.
“As I said earlier, it’s disappointing. In terms of the championship fight, it’s certainly not over yet, and we’re still in the course. But of course, it’s frustrating. We got back on tarmac and wanted to have a good race here,” Neuville lamented.
Toyota’s Sami Pajari remains in sixth place, with Takamoto Katsuta in fifth. Both Toyota drivers have driven a consistent and solid rally.
For Ford, the rally has become very bleak. Adrien Fourmaux had to retire earlier, and Gregoire Munster has been his usual disappointing self. Munster is currently seventh in the rally, having fallen over three minutes behind the leader.
There is still one more special stage to be run in the Central European Rally on Saturday. The rally concludes on Sunday.
Central European Rally standings after SS13/18:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 2:01:09.2 |
| 2. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +4.1 |
| 3. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +12.0 |
| 4. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +37.7 |
| 5. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:27.5 |
| 6. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +2:03.1 |
| 7. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +3:11.3 |
| 8. | Nikolay Gryazin | Citroen | +7:08.6 |
| 9. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +7:42.0 |
Central European Rally itinerary (CET) :
Thursday, 17 October 09.31 Shakedown: Točná (2.11 km) 15.05 SS1: SSS Velká Chuchle (2.55 km) 18.26 SS2: Klatovy 1 (11.78 km) Friday, 18 October 08.02 SS3: Klatovy 2 (11.78 km) 09.32 SS4: Strašín 1 (26.69 km) 10.42 SS5: Šumavské Hoštice 1 (16.85 km) 13.11 SS6: Klatovy 3 (11.78 km) 14.28 Remote Service (30 min) 16.14 SS7: Strašín 2 (26.69 km) 17.24 SS8: Šumavské Hoštice 2 (16.85 km) Saturday, 19 October 07.58 SS9: Granit und Wald 1 (20.05 km) 09.05 SS10: Beyond Borders 1 (24.33 km) 10.34 SS11: Schärdinger Innviertel 1 (17.35 km) 12.10 Service (40 min) 14.28 SS12: Granit und Wald 2 (20.05 km) 15.35 SS13: Beyond Borders 2 (24.33 km) 17.04 SS14: Schärdinger Innviertel 2 (17.35 km) Sunday, 20 October 09.11 SS15: Am Hochwald 1 (12.17 km) 10.35 SS16: Passauer Land 1 (14.87 km) 11.33 SS17: Am Hochwald 2 (12.17 km) 13.15 SS18: Passauer Land 2 (14.87 km)
