However, on his very first run, Neuville crashed into a guardrail, resulting in a dreadful initial time for the Belgian. Nevertheless, Neuville went on to set the fastest time on the nearly five-kilometre-long test stage on his third run.
Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier, who leads the World Rally Championship, was the second-fastest on the test stage, trailing Neuville by 1.1 seconds. Toyota’s Elfyn Evans was third on the stage, ahead of Hyundai’s Ott Tänak and M-Sport Ford’s Grégoire Munster.
The Finnish drivers were at the lower end of the results sheet, as Kalle Rovanperä was the slowest among the Rally1 cars. However, Rovanperä completed only one proper run, in which he placed third. In the overall standings, he ended up 6.4 seconds behind the leader. Sami Pajari was the second-slowest, also 6.4 seconds off the pace.
The Central European Rally begins on Thursday afternoon with the Golf und Therme special stage, which will be run twice. In total, the rally consists of 18 special stages covering around 306 kilometres.
The rally concludes on Sunday.
Central European Rally, shakedown results:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | 2:15.5 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +1.1 |
| 3. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +1.2 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +1.3 |
| 5. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +1.9 |
| 6. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +2.0 |
| 7. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +2.3 |
| 8. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +3.6 |
| 9. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +5.5 |
| 10. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +6.3 |
Central European Rally – Stage itinerary (CET)
Thursday, 16 October
08:01 Shakedown – Test Stage (4.57 km)
14:30 SS1: Golf und Therme 1 (12.83 km)
18:05 SS2: Golf und Therme 2 (12.83 km)
Friday, 17 October
08:30 SS3: Granit und Wald 1 (10.86 km)
09:20 SS4: Böhmerwald 1 (15.27 km)
11:25 SS5: Col de Jan 1 (23.37 km)
13:40 Tyre fitting zone (15 min)
14:45 SS6: Col de Jan 2 (23.37 km)
17:20 SS7: Böhmerwald 2 (15.27 km)
18:15 SS8: Granit und Wald 2 (10.86 km)
Saturday, 18 October
08:15 SS9: Made in FRG 1 (14.30 km)
10:35 SS10: Keply 1 (21.95 km)
11:35 SS11: Klatovy 1 (15.57 km)
12:50 Tyre fitting zone (15 min)
14:05 SS12: Keply 2 (21.95 km)
15:05 SS13: Klatovy 2 (15.57 km)
18:25 SS14: Made in FRG 2 (14.30 km)
Sunday, 19 October
08:25 SS15: Beyond Borders 1 (12.37 km)
10:05 SS16: Mühltal 1 (26.52 km)
11:10 SS17: Beyond Borders 2 (12.37 km)
13:15 SS18: Mühltal 2 (26.52 km) Power Stage
