OMV ADAC Rallye Deutschland

OMV ADAC Rallye Deutschland
9th Round FIA WRC 2006
11-13 August 2006

Final Result

Sebastien Loeb claimed his 26th victory this weekend as the OMV ADAC Rallye Deutschland came to a close. The victory here tied Loeb with the legendary Carlos Sainz for FIA World Rally Championship victories. In a weekend filled with drama, Loeb drove a clean rally, and with his seemingly amazing ability to properly choose tyres perfect for the weather conditions, Loeb showed us all why he deserved the victory this weekend.

Loeb's team-mate for the event, the 2005 J-WRC champion Dani Sordo, also had an impressive run through the German tarmac round. Sordo, who was called up by Kronos to drive the second points nominated car, finished the event second overall, while challenging Loeb for superiority on many of the rally's stages. It was a wonderful weekend for the Kronos Total Citroen World Rally Team.

BP-Ford World Rally Team ace Marcus Gronholm completed the event third overall. Poor tyre choice on the rally's opening day saw Gronholm well out of contention for the rally lead by the end of Friday's Leg, but the former World Champion kept his composure, determined to bring his Ford home for points.

Toni Gardemeister looked as though he could contest a podium finish in Germany, but after giving away third to Gronholm midway through the rally's second Leg, Gardemeister was unable to reclaim the position he had held for some part of the rally. Gardemeister finished the event fourth, though not his best finish of the year, it was another impressive run.

Mikko Hirvonen finished the event fifth overall, but alternator problems prevented Hirvonen from making the drive back to Trier after the final stage. Hirvonen also suffered from ill tyre choice early in the rally, and it was extremely disappointing for the Finn to take the penalty which dropped Hirvonen to ninth overall.

OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team driver Manfred Stohl became the immediate beneficiary of Hirvonen's troubles. Stohl moved into fifth overall, followed by Andreas Aigner in sixth overall - a fantastic result for the Red Bull Skoda driver. Jan Kopecky, who claimed two stage victories in Germany, finished the event seventh overall.

It was another disappointing event for the Subaru World Rally Team. Petter Solberg suffered engine troubles during the second day's opening stage and was forced to retire, leaving Stephane Sarrazin and Chris Atkinson as the lone standard bearers. Unfortunately, Sarrazin too suffered mechanical troubles after an off - gearbox failure - which ended his event, leaving Atkinson as the only remaining Subaru. Atkinson finished the event eighth overall.

That handed OMV Peugeot Norway's Manfred Stohl fifth place. He had been sixth overnight and finished the last stage sixth. Red Bull Skoda number two Andreas Aigner moves up to sixth from the seventh he held overnight and the position he finished the last stage in.

The misfortune of Sarrazin allowed Ford Focus WRC privateer Gareth McHale into the top ten. MacHale celebrated his 26th birthday during the rally's second day, and a top 10 finish for MacHale was the perfect birthday present.

photo and story: wrc.com