Ogier launched a fierce attack later in the day and managed to hold his lead through to the end of the day’s stages.
On the final stage of the day, Ogier was 1.1 seconds faster than Hyundai’s Ott Tänak and also set the fastest time on that stage. Ogier now has the biggest provisional haul of championship points in his pocket, but of course, the Frenchman still needs to make it to the finish on Sunday to secure them.
“It’s OK, it was a good day. It’s even better like this (to be fastest),” Ogier remarked at the stage end.
Tänak pushed hard to catch Ogier on the first stage of the afternoon loop but couldn’t match the Frenchman on the final two stages. Tänak ended up losing the so-called long battle to Ogier by 5.2 seconds.
“The last two stages were much more dryer than we might have expected. This one was quite clean. Seems like we lose to the Toyotas in these conditions,” Tänak commented.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans was the third fastest on the day’s final stage and remains third in the overall standings. The Welshman is now 14 seconds behind the leader.
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville had a mishap on Saturday. He spun and went off into the grass on the morning’s final stage, losing his chance of winning the long battle. Neuville is still fourth overall, but Tänak now has the opportunity to keep the championship fight alive until the season-ending round in Japan.
“Obviously there is disappointment for sure, but the rally isn’t over and tomorrow is an exciting day. We paid the price,” Neuville said at the end of the day.
Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta is having a strong comeback rally and continues to hold fifth place overall. Sami Pajari has also driven flawlessly. Without the hybrid issue on the first day, the Finn might have been fighting for an even better position than sixth.
“Quite nice, somehow this stage suited me quite nicely,” Pajari summarised.
Central European Rally continues tomorrow, Sunday. Four more special stages remain on the final day of the rally.
Central European Rally standings after SS14/18:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 2:10:12.7 |
| 2. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +5.2 |
| 3. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +14.0 |
| 4. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +39.8 |
| 5. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:31.8 |
| 6. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +2:07.3 |
| 7. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +3:22.7 |
| 8. | Nikolay Gryazin | Citroen | +7:39.6 |
| 9. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +8:10.6 |
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)
