The rally, held across the Czech Republic, Germany, and Austria, took a dramatic turn on the penultimate stage when Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier crashed out and was forced to retire. This meant that no Toyota driver can now challenge Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville for the title in the season-ending Rally Japan.
Championship leader Neuville ultimately finished third in the tarmac rally, securing a decent points haul. Neuville remains in a strong position to clinch his first-ever title, though his teammate Ott Tänak still has a theoretical chance to fight for the championship in the final round. The gap between the two Hyundai drivers stands at 25 points.
Tänak took the rally win with a margin of just under ten seconds over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans. Neuville, who had an off-road excursion into a field on Saturday, finished 40 seconds behind the leader.
Ogier’s crash on Sunday dealt a heavy blow to Toyota’s hopes in the manufacturers’ title battle. Based on Saturday evening’s results, Toyota was set to gain an advantage over Hyundai, but Ogier’s retirement meant that Toyota lost the biggest conditional points haul to Hyundai and Tänak.
Based on the Super Sunday results, Takamoto Katsuta and Elfyn Evans brought more points to Toyota than Tänak and Neuville did for Hyundai, but Hyundai still holds a 15-point lead in the manufacturers’ championship.
The fight for the manufacturers’ title remains open, but Toyota will need a stellar result in Rally Japan to overtake Hyundai.
Toyota’s Katsuta finished fourth in the Central European Rally, ahead of M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster. The WRC2 class win went to Nikolay Gryazin, who finished sixth overall.
Sami Pajari competed in a Toyota Rally1 car on tarmac for the first time in Central Europe. Pajari drove steadily for the first two days, but on Sunday’s opening stage, the Finnish driver made a mistake and rolled his car. Pajari’s rally ended there.
The season-ending Rally Japan takes place from 21-24 November.
Central European Rally results after SS18/18:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 2:37:34.6 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +7.0 |
| 3. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +39.8 |
| 4. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:21.0 |
| 5. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +3:41.9 |
| 6. | Nikolay Gryazin | Citroen | +9:17.6 |
| 7. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +9:34.1 |
| 8. | Filip Mares | Toyota | +11:41.5 |
Super Sunday results after SS4/4 :
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | 27:11.1 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +3.8 |
| 3. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +5.4 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +5.6 |
| 5. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +10.8 |
| 6. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +30.0 |
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)
