First, Neuville spun, losing nearly ten seconds. Shortly after, the Belgian overshot again, wasting even more time. In total, Neuville lost 35.8 seconds to Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier, who set the fastest time on the stage.
As a result, Neuville dropped from the lead to fourth place in the rally. He is now more than 25 seconds behind a podium spot, and it’s likely he will focus on securing his position during the afternoon stages.
“My pace notes were too fast, it’s a wide road. Obviously in the dry it would have worked but my pace notes were too optimistic and the car never turned because it was too greasy, then we decided to go into a field and got stuck. The spin was a spin, but the second one I couldn’t avoid. There was a way to get out, so I had to try. But we are here,” Neuville explained.
Ogier moved into the rally lead, with a 4.6-second advantage over Hyundai’s Ott Tänak. Toyota’s Welsh driver Elfyn Evans is third, just 3.7 seconds behind Tänak.
“A little sideways moment mid stage. We got info that it would be tricky, but there were sections where there was good grip and where there was not. (Neuville) is good news for us,” Ogier summarised.
Toyota’s Sami Pajari continues his consistent run, holding sixth place just behind teammate Takamoto Katsuta. However, the Japanese driver made a mistake on the final stage of the morning loop, braking too late and “drifting” across the grass for quite some time.
“Maybe I am still too slow, not any moments and I am just in the middle of the road. It was a really nice stage, I enjoyed it. I had a really nice, clean, enjoyable stage. No drama.” Pajari commented.
“It was a big surprise. I am many surprised in many places. It was very difficult. I didn’t take risk as I didn’t want to slip. I felt like 10 minutes on the grass,” Katsuta said, having lost about 20 seconds in the incident.
Three more stages remain on Saturday after the service break. The rally will conclude on Sunday.
Central European Rally standings after SS11/18:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 1:37:58.2 |
| 2. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +4.6 |
| 3. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +8.3 |
| 4. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +33.6 |
| 5. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:02.4 |
| 6. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +1:49.9 |
| 7. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +2:51.0 |
| 8. | Nikolay Gryazin | Citroen | +5:50.7 |
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)
