SS4: Sébastien Ogier was confused at the stage finish – “What happened there?”

However, Ogier had a rough situation on the fourth special stage. He went wide on one corner but fortunately did not hit anything. At the end of the stage, Ogier himself was baffled.

“What happened there?” Ogier asked the interviewer.

After receiving an answer, Ogier appeared visibly relieved.

“We stopped so nothing happened. We lost a bit of time. Wasn’t a good stage for me,” the Frenchman said.

The fastest time for the nearly 27-kilometre long stage was set by Ogier’s teammate Elfyn Evans. Ogier lost 4.5 seconds to his teammate.

Hyundai drivers complained about their cars but were still in good pace. Thierry Neuville, who is seeking his first world championship title, was the second fastest on the stage (+1.6), and Ott Tänak was third fastest (+4.0).

“I had no feeling for the grip, I was understeering massively through out the stage. Many grip changes throughout the stage and I struggled to find the confidence after,” Neuville said.

“Conditions can’t be more different than previous. Somehow I struggle with the car. Very difficult rally,” Tänak lamented.

Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta also performed excellently again. He was the fifth fastest on the stage (+5.3) and beat Sami Pajari, who was sixth fastest (+17.4). Pajari’s relatively poor time can be explained by the fact that the Finnish Toyota driver still did not have a hybrid unit at his disposal. The same situation applies to Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux, and Pajari moved ahead of the Frenchman in the overall standings to seventh.

Ogier continues to lead the rally. He now has only a 0.3-second advantage over Neuville. Elfyn Evans is in third, Takamoto Katsuta fourth, and Ott Tänak fifth. The entire top five is within five seconds of each other.

Four more special stages will be run on Friday in the Central European Rally Championship. The competition ends on Sunday.

Central European Rally standings after EK3/18:

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)