World champion Sébastien Ogier has given the clearest hint yet that he will stay in the WRC in 2018.

His future has been the subject of much speculation in recent weeks. The rumour mill went into overdrive at last weekend’s ADAC Rallye Deutschland about where he will drive next year or whether he could retire.

After regaining the championship lead at the Saarland asphalt event, Ogier told WRC TV that while he has considered retirement, he would prefer to be back behind the wheel next season.

“It (retirement) is a possibility but it’s not depending about the title. The truth is I want to do a bit more, I think I will do a bit more,” he said.

“I have no pressure about that. I’m very relaxed and if I feel that I have a good opportunity to do something well again in the future, next year, and get everything I want, then I will continue probably.”

His deal with M-Sport World Rally Team expires at the end of this season. Ogier has previously said he could stay with the British squad, for whom he has won two rallies, if extra finance could be found to keep the Ford Fiesta at the head of the pack.

Ogier and his wife, German TV sports presenter Andrea Kaiser, celebrated the birth of their first child in June 2016 and the Frenchman admitted family life made it harder to prolong his career. 

“I’ve done many years now and it’s always becoming harder and harder to go out of home, especially when you have a kid. It’s a lot of travel, a lot of stress. I’m relaxed with this but the truth is I’m working on it to find a solution to continue. 

“There are offers. For many weeks I have said hopefully (I’ll have a decision) soon. I guess before the rally in Spain (5 - 8 October) we should know something,” added Ogier. 

source: wrc.com

Ford Fiesta WRC drivers Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja claimed their second FIA World Rally Championship victory today when they took the top step of the podium on Rallye Deutschland.

The Estonians led from the first full day of competition on Friday to take their first Tarmac win on an event their M-Sport team had yet to conquer.

Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jæger held off Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia for second position, a fine result for the Norwegians on their third event with Citroën and first on asphalt for the French manufacturer.

“It’s a great feeling!” said Tänak. “The start to the rally went perfectly. After that it was just about controlling our lead. Winning our first Tarmac event feels cool"

"With 25 points here I don’t see any reason why we can’t fight for the Championship. We will keep fighting; we need to keep winning if we’re going to win the Championship.”

Photo Gallery: WRC Rally Germany 2017

In the race for the title, Ogier had hoped for better but with Thierry Neuville retiring yesterday and failing to score any Power Stage points, the Frenchman now has a 17 point advantage over the Belgian with three rounds remaining.

Ott Tänak maintains third but still with a chance of fighting for the title. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, M-Sport’s double podium sees it take an impressive 64 point advantage over Hyundai who had a more than disappointing weekend in Germany.

Today’s route was by far the shortest and covered two identical loops of two stages covering 51.94 competitive kilometres. In confident mood, Tänak was able to control his pace through the closing stages and never looked challenged before ultimately taking the win by 16.4 seconds. Mikkelsen nevertheless kept the pressure on the Estonian and fended off Ogier to take Citroën’s second podium of the season after Kris Meeke’s victory in Mexico.

With both Ogier and Neuville making mistakes earlier in the event, Ogier adopted a more cautious approach after his Championship rival retired yesterday and the Frenchman set his sights on maintaining position and scoring as many points in the Power Stage as possible. He picked up two additional points.

Behind the leading trio, Juho Hänninen managed to climb to fourth; the Finn overhauled Elfyn Evans in the day’s opener when the Welshman overshot a junction and stalled.

Evans’ woes continued with probably not the best tyre choice and he was passed by Craig Breen in the final stage, the Irish driver closing the gap in the penultimate stage with fastest time and powering ahead in the final one, dropping Evans to sixth.

Jari-Matti Latvala salvaged some extra points for third in the Power Stage, adding to his tally for seventh overall. Hayden Paddon was the lead Hyundai driver in eighth and while team-mate Dani Sordo finished way down the order, the Spaniard took some consolation from maximum points in the Power Stage. Germany’s Armin Kremer finish ninth in his first outing in a 2017 spec WRC car.

Eric Camilli rounded off the top 10 and also won the FIA WRC 2 Championship category in a Fiesta R5. He headed asphalt ace Jan Kopecky by nearly a minute.

Pontus Tidemand’s third position was enough to secure the Swede an unassailable lead in the category and he provisionally takes the title with three rounds remaining.

In the FIA Junior WRC Championship, local driver Julius Tannert took a dream win by an enormous margin after his rivals hit problems. Nil Solans, second in the category, looks on course to win the title on the final round of their Championship in Spain, but the Spaniard claimed the FIA WRC 3 Championship title here in Germany.

The FIA World Rally Championship contenders now take a break before returning to action for Rally España (5-8 October).

Rallye Deutschland – Final unofficial results (subject to scrutineering)

M-Sport must keep fighting if it is to maintain its leads in both the WRC teams and drivers championships, team boss Malcolm Wilson has warned.

The British-based squad pulled clear in both title races at last weekend’s ADAC Rallye Deutschland, when Ford Fiesta drivers Ott Tänak and Sébastien Ogier claimed victory and third place respectively. 

Ogier pulled 17 points clear at the head of the drivers’ standings, while a combined haul of 40 points increased M-Sport's advantage in the teams' championship to 64 points. 

But as the end of the season approaches, Wilson warned against complacency. 

“There might only be three events left, but we can’t let it slip now," he said. "Historically, we have been in this position before and ended up losing it."

"As we’ve seen this weekend, anything can happen so we need to keep fighting and that is exactly what we intend to do. We will try to do everything we possibly can to secure both championships." 

Wilson paid tribute to his team after Tänak's historic victory at the WRC's German counter. 

"It's the only rally in the championship that we hadn't won and I genuinely didn't think we'd be in this position at the start of the rally," he said. 

"Seb and Ott both did a fantastic job, particularly on Friday in difficult conditions. There were no real mistakes, they stayed out of trouble, I could not ask for more from these guys.

"Ott has always been quick on Tarmac - he's always been quick everywhere - but he's really come on this year in combination with these new cars. Sebastien too has been a big influence in the team - he's shown Ott a real goal and a target to go for."

Ott Tänak eased through Sunday morning’s opening two speed tests at Rallye Germany to maintain a comfortable advantage over Andreas Mikkelsen.

Third in the country roads of Losheim am See and fourth in the following St Wendeler Land on the edge of the Bostalsee service park left the Estonian 18.0sec clear with just a repeat of the two tests remaining.

“I have a good feeling at the moment. The second stage wasn’t as fast as the first, it was a bit more greasy and dirty in places. It’s very enjoyable when the grip is consistent,” said the Ford Fiesta driver.

Mikkelsen was second in the opener and third in the following test in his Citroën C3 to cast off the shadow of Sébastien Ogier behind him. The gap between the pair widened to 19.3sec.

“It’s difficult to catch all the time to Ott but we have to try to keep the pressure on, there’s nothing else we can do,” said the Norwegian.

With a big haul of points at stake, Ogier seems to have settled for third, preferring to chase bonus points in the final Power Stage. “That would be the plan, but it’s never easy. Now we just recce the stage, checking the notes,” said the Frenchman.

Juho Hänninen regained fourth place that he lost to Elfyn Evans last night. The Toyota Yaris man was fastest in Losheim am See to overhaul the Welshman, who overshot a corner and stalled his Fiesta’s engine.

The Finn took more time in St Wendeler Land as Evans admitted opting for soft compound tyres on the Fiesta was the wrong choice. The gap is 13.1sec and Evans has only 7.1sec in hand over a chasing Craig Breen.

Esapekka Lappi was fastest in St Wendeler Land after an analysis of his driving style last night reaped instant rewards.