Central European Rally 2023

Central European Rally 2023


25. 10. 2023 - 29. 10. 2023

Information

Date and time SS Information
30. 10. 2023 11:14 CET 18 flash info (11 - Neuville Thierry / Wydaeghe Martijn): I mean, first of all I am really pleased to be at the finish - it was a very challenging and tough weekend out there. Overall we did a good job, we had good consistency which ultimately paid off. It was a team effort this weekend and we did it, so we can be proud of that.
30. 10. 2023 11:13 CET 18 flash info (69 - Rovanperä Kalle / Halttunen Jonne): I am feeling really good. I think this year was, for me personally, more important than last year. The competition was tighter and we did a really good job. The biggest thank you of course goes to Jonne - he is also the world's best co-driver. I am going to enjoy this one more than the first one.
30. 10. 2023 11:13 CET 18 flash info (8 - Tänak Ott / Järveoja Martin): A podium is always welcome. It's been tough and now, with all these junctions, it's been difficult to stay on the pace. We just had to manage it today and we did that. It's definitely great for everyone in the team.
30. 10. 2023 11:13 CET 18 flash info (17 - Ogier Sébastien / Landais Vincent): Day one was a disaster for us, so after that we had an okay rally. There was not so much we could do with our start positon this weekend, and obviously the puncture straight away didn't help. I am now looking forward to Japan and trying to finish the season on a high.
30. 10. 2023 11:12 CET 18 flash info (18 - Katsuta Takamoto / Johnston Aaron): It felt good at the end of the weekend but I have a lot of things I need to improve myself. For sure, the next rally is in my home country so I need to do a big push there.
30. 10. 2023 11:12 CET 18 flash info (3 - Suninen Teemu / Markkula Mikko): I would say the rally was quite good. It was super tricky and my first time on the tarmac in this car, so a lot of learning. The rally was changing every day and we needed to adapt, and at this level we have to adapt from the first kilometre.
30. 10. 2023 11:11 CET 18 flash info (13 - Munster Grégoire / Louka Louis): I am super delighted. I want to thank Jourdan Serderidis and M-Sport for the chance they gave us to drive this car on two occasions. We tried to grab the opportunity with both hands and we enjoyed every kilometre of it. I hope I will be in Monte, I don't know with which car.
30. 10. 2023 11:11 CET 18 flash info (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): For sure, we will remember the positives. We are disappointed with that but, well, we have not been super lucky this year. Thanks to everybody and M-Sport, they tried so hard this year but unfortunately we didn't do any good results. I hope we continue to work together and hopefully we will be back soon in Monte.
30. 10. 2023 11:11 CET 18 flash info (33 - Evans Elfyn / Martin Scott): You have to try. In fairness, Kalle was very strong on Friday and we didn't have the pace to follow him. After that, of course we continued to try but it didn't work out this time and sometimes that's the way it goes. We'll try again next year, that's for sure, but I wish the guys the best. They've done an incredible season, so well done to those guys.
30. 10. 2023 11:11 CET 18 flash info (36 - Ciamin Nicolas / Roche Yannick): It's fantastic. A few times I have been in a good position for a good result in WRC2, and it's always failed. I am very happy to bring home the result this time after many years. I think this will help me for next year.
30. 10. 2023 11:10 CET 18 flash info (24 - Fourmaux Adrien / Coria Alexandre): It was a fantastic weekend for us and we were pushing really hard since our puncture on the first day. It's a really good way to finish the season with the Rally2 car. We have been improving a lot so I am really, really happy.
30. 10. 2023 11:10 CET 18 flash info (31 - Cais Erik / Trunkát Daniel): It was not an easy rally. Today, I knew that the target was to finish on the podium and when I saw the first time to Ciamin, I thought that I would lower the risk.
29. 10. 2023 12:18 CET 18 Start of stage at 12:28, ambulance intervention non-related to rally.
29. 10. 2023 12:00 CET 18 Starting order: Cais, Fourmaux, Ciamin, Evans, Loubet, Munster, Suninen, Katsuta, Ogier, Tänak, Rovanperä, Neuville
30. 10. 2023 11:06 CET 17 (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): broken driveshaft
29. 10. 2023 09:45 CET 17 Start of stage will be delayed for 16 minutes.
30. 10. 2023 11:17 CET 16 retired (38 - Skála Jan / Skořepa Jiří): accident in SS 16
30. 10. 2023 11:17 CET 16 retired (30 - Linnamäe Georg / Morgan James): accident in SS 16
30. 10. 2023 11:06 CET 16 flash info (11 - Neuville Thierry / Wydaeghe Martijn): I am not sure I am really enjoying it. We have a comfortable gap now and I am just trying to get through without any technical issues or mistakes. No real push, I am just trying to keep concentration and finish the job.
30. 10. 2023 11:05 CET 16 flash info (69 - Rovanperä Kalle / Halttunen Jonne): Of course, the driving is the same. We try to concentrate and do our job without mistakes, but of course there is a bigger goal at the end of the day waiting for us which we will try to reach.
30. 10. 2023 11:05 CET 16 flash info (8 - Tänak Ott / Järveoja Martin): We tried for sure. It's tricky but we lost the gear knob as well in the stage, so it was a bit challenging.
30. 10. 2023 11:05 CET 16 flash info (17 - Ogier Sébastien / Landais Vincent): All good with the tyres. We had more cuts in this one so it's no surprise that it's faster to be at the front.
30. 10. 2023 11:05 CET 16 flash info (18 - Katsuta Takamoto / Johnston Aaron): It's not easy, because in some corners you can see a lot a mud, but not as I expected. I was way too careful because I expected more mud coming from the inside.
30. 10. 2023 11:04 CET 16 flash info (3 - Suninen Teemu / Markkula Mikko): I was a bit careful on the middle section, but there are few muddy sections which can surprise you. You need to be quite careful.
30. 10. 2023 11:02 CET 16 flash info (13 - Munster Grégoire / Louka Louis): 90 per cent of it is perfectly dry and you can push a lot, and then some sections have leaves on the road from the first cars. are taking it easy.
30. 10. 2023 11:01 CET 16 flash info (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): We broke the transmission after the second corner. It was stupid to try to continue to attack, I think we broke the front-left driveshaft.
30. 10. 2023 11:00 CET 16 (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): broken driveshaft
30. 10. 2023 11:00 CET 16 flash info (33 - Evans Elfyn / Martin Scott): It was quite okay now, but I guess it's going to be quite dirty on the second pass when it counts. Obviously yesterday was a massive disappointment, but it was a long shot anyway so we had to try. You've got to try, otherwise there's no point being here.
29. 10. 2023 09:59 CET 16 (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): was out of road
29. 10. 2023 09:44 CET 16 Start was delayed for 16 minutes.
29. 10. 2023 09:40 CET 16 Start of stage is delayed. New start 9:51.
29. 10. 2023 08:47 CET 15 flash info (11 - Neuville Thierry / Wydaeghe Martijn): Everything is going to plan. A clean run through this stage, no risks, and onto the next one. We have a regroup and we're going to talk to our gravel crew, but I felt already that the soft tyre was getting to the limit now.
29. 10. 2023 08:43 CET 15 flash info (69 - Rovanperä Kalle / Halttunen Jonne): The feeling is of course good. We are just enjoying, and now that the weather is a bit better it's nicer to drive. Nothing crazy, we're just enjoying the day.
29. 10. 2023 08:41 CET 15 flash info (8 - Tänak Ott / Järveoja Martin): Quite high grip, still some mud but a lot less than we have seen in previous days. Let's see, step by step now.
29. 10. 2023 08:40 CET 15 flash info (17 - Ogier Sébastien / Landais Vincent): It was not really clear what was happening with the conditions, especially on the Power Stage there might be a lot more pollution.
29. 10. 2023 08:35 CET 15 flash info (18 - Katsuta Takamoto / Johnston Aaron): I was being on the safer side, but let's see how it's going on the next one.
29. 10. 2023 08:33 CET 15 flash info (3 - Suninen Teemu / Markkula Mikko): I tried to take care of the tyres but I think I could have pushed more. The target is to focus on my job and improve my driving. I will do my best and see where we end up.
29. 10. 2023 08:29 CET 15 flash info (13 - Munster Grégoire / Louka Louis): It's much easier than the previous day but the soft tyre is overheating a bit. We just need to manage and see, it's good learning.
29. 10. 2023 08:28 CET 15 flash info (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): For sure, it's enjoyable. Very fast stages, we will try to take it easy and see on the second pass. There are still tricky places in the forest, especially on the black Tarmac, but it was fine.
29. 10. 2023 08:26 CET 15 retired (27 - Lindholm Emil / Hämäläinen Reeta): technical problem - steering before SS 15
29. 10. 2023 08:26 CET 15 flash info (33 - Evans Elfyn / Martin Scott): It's pretty dry and clean in there overall, some quite slippy sections under the trees where it's a bit damp, but overall good conditions.
29. 10. 2023 06:48 CET 15 Weather on stages is semi-cloudy, roads are dry.
29. 10. 2023 08:59 CET 14 (28 - Marczyk Miko / Dymurski Daniel): was out of road
29. 10. 2023 06:18 CET 14 (49 - Keferböck Johannes / Minor Ilka): was out of road
28. 10. 2023 19:13 CET 14 (25 - Gryazin Nikolay / Aleksandrov Konstantin): was out of road
28. 10. 2023 19:12 CET 14 flash info (69 - Rovanperä Kalle / Halttunen Jonne): I just wanted to end the day with a good feeling, so I tried to drive a bit. It's good to be at the finish of the day, it's tough out there. I think these are the most tough Tarmac rally conditions I have ever seen.
28. 10. 2023 19:03 CET 14 flash info (11 - Neuville Thierry / Wydaeghe Martijn): It was probably the most enjoyable stage for me this weekend, I like driving in the dark and this was fun. All afternoon we tried to manage the gap and I am happy to finish the day in the lead of the rally. We are following our target.
28. 10. 2023 18:32 CET 14 flash info (8 - Tänak Ott / Järveoja Martin): In the previous stage, we lost the hydraulic pressure so we have no handbrake disconnect. In the first hairpin we had to reverse and then in another hairpin I had a stupid instinct to touch the handbrake and it locked the front wheels. A stupid instinct, stupid.
28. 10. 2023 18:28 CET 14 flash info (18 - Katsuta Takamoto / Johnston Aaron): At least I wanted to be in front of Teemu, so I tried of course. That was quite scary, quite bad. I am very happy to finish the day.
28. 10. 2023 18:25 CET 14 (8 - Tänak Ott / Järveoja Martin): was out of road
28. 10. 2023 18:22 CET 14 flash info (17 - Ogier Sébastien / Landais Vincent): It is more like Rally GB than anything else! For me, I was just making it through on this one. It's incredibly slippy in this stage and it's not really enjoyable when you have no grip with slick tyres.
28. 10. 2023 18:20 CET 14 flash info (3 - Suninen Teemu / Markkula Mikko): It felt quite okay, but I am not sure if we are in Central Europe or Monte-Carlo because the grip was so low!
28. 10. 2023 18:17 CET 14 flash info (13 - Munster Grégoire / Louka Louis): Very demanding, especially if you don't have the inner lights like us! We really took it carefully and we have to see - I think the idle is dropping too low and that's why we stalled again.
28. 10. 2023 18:16 CET 14 flash info (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): I was surprised, I was not thinking it would be so slippery in the forest. In a long wide corner I went straight, very slowly fortunately, but I lost a lot of time.
28. 10. 2023 18:16 CET 14 (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): was out of road
28. 10. 2023 18:14 CET 13 (38 - Skála Jan / Skořepa Jiří): puncture
28. 10. 2023 17:58 CET 13 flash info (69 - Rovanperä Kalle / Halttunen Jonne): It's a bit more difficult. The conditions are tricky and the rhythm is easier when you have the proper pace. Anyway, I think we are doing okay. The only goal is to finish.
28. 10. 2023 17:57 CET 13 flash info (11 - Neuville Thierry / Wydaeghe Martijn): It's very hard to say which rhythm to go with. I had a clean stage, obviously the rain tyre on the rear is still moving a bit. On the next one, if the rain comes, we are on the safe side with three wets.
28. 10. 2023 17:57 CET 13 flash info (8 - Tänak Ott / Järveoja Martin): I had an okay feeling. I tried a bit more, quite an okay stage. The next one will be demanding - it was demanding already in daylight.
28. 10. 2023 17:57 CET 13 flash info (18 - Katsuta Takamoto / Johnston Aaron): It's better, but obviously this one was quite tricky so I had to be quite careful. This next one is in the dark so I need to find the level I need to push.
28. 10. 2023 17:57 CET 13 flash info (17 - Ogier Sébastien / Landais Vincent): It's more enjoyable with the conditions now this afternoon. It's fun to drive now, at least we have enjoyed the afternoon so far.
28. 10. 2023 17:56 CET 13 flash info (3 - Suninen Teemu / Markkula Mikko): Tricky. It's managing the tyres, finding the grip. It's quite humid in places so it's difficult.
28. 10. 2023 17:56 CET 13 flash info (13 - Munster Grégoire / Louka Louis): For sure, it's a bit like Monte-Carlo on this one because you have really dry sections where you can go flat-out, and then suddenly for five corners you really have to kill the speed. It's good learning for next year.
28. 10. 2023 17:56 CET 13 flash info (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): The road is very, very tricky this afternoon. We are 20 seconds slower than this morning, it's not a surprise. This is maybe one of the most difficult stages of the weekend.
28. 10. 2023 16:00 CET 12 flash info (69 - Rovanperä Kalle / Halttunen Jonne): It's quite nice to have some slick tyres under the car. There is still a lot of mud and tricky places which I took carefully, but otherwise I tried to enjoy.
28. 10. 2023 15:59 CET 12 flash info (11 - Neuville Thierry / Wydaeghe Martijn): It was a clean stage for us. It would have been nice to do this one with full slicks, but it was enjoyable at least. We think there is a small risk of rain in the last stage in the dark, so we went for the safe option.
28. 10. 2023 15:59 CET 12 flash info (8 - Tänak Ott / Järveoja Martin): Some places are tricky, some muddy places. We had a clean run.
28. 10. 2023 15:58 CET 12 flash info (18 - Katsuta Takamoto / Johnston Aaron): That's quite good news, I was struggling a lot this morning. The engineers changed my brain and now it finally works!
28. 10. 2023 15:58 CET 12 flash info (17 - Ogier Sébastien / Landais Vincent): First time this weekend that we had a bit of grip! In the mud it's still extremely slippery, the grip changes are bigger than before so you have to be careful.
28. 10. 2023 15:58 CET 12 flash info (3 - Suninen Teemu / Markkula Mikko): The mud is really slippery with these tyres but, yes, I have to learn.
28. 10. 2023 15:57 CET 12 flash info (13 - Munster Grégoire / Louka Louis): There was a big cut with a lot of mud and I just missed the cut, so I couldn't keep it in a good line. We went straight, had to reverse and then go again. It's more difficult to drive this car when it's dry and you have the aero and everything, now you see the difference when you come from Rally2 to Rally1.
28. 10. 2023 15:56 CET 12 (13 - Munster Grégoire / Louka Louis): missed junction
28. 10. 2023 15:56 CET 12 flash info (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): All is okay. It was very different from the morning, still tricky with the soft tyres but very enjoyable.
28. 10. 2023 13:34 CET 11 Stage was cancelled.
28. 10. 2023 13:30 CET 11 Stage was stopped.
28. 10. 2023 13:29 CET 11 retired (58 - Rary Emeric / Henry Fabrice): accident in SS 11
28. 10. 2023 13:20 CET 11 flash info (69 - Rovanperä Kalle / Halttunen Jonne): I knew that Elfyn was off, so why would I risk anything anymore? A real shame for Elfyn and Scott, I hope they are both okay. They put on a good fight and it would have been really tricky for us to keep pushing. Being the last car on the road was really tricky, it was a big mess out there. Now the goal is a bit different and we just try to finish with some good points.
28. 10. 2023 13:19 CET 11 flash info (11 - Neuville Thierry / Wydaeghe Martijn): Obviously I am disappointed for Elfyn - his championship hopes are obvously gone now, but that's rallying. This was probably the most demanding stage of the loop and we did what we could.
28. 10. 2023 13:19 CET 11 flash info (18 - Katsuta Takamoto / Johnston Aaron): A lot of mud is coming from the inside, but this is what we expected. For me it's very difficult to drive at the moment, I don't have the feeling. I am really struggling and I don't know why.
28. 10. 2023 13:19 CET 11 flash info (17 - Ogier Sébastien / Landais Vincent): It's very dirty in there. We are not fighting for anything so not too much risk for us.
28. 10. 2023 13:18 CET 11 flash info (3 - Suninen Teemu / Markkula Mikko): I couldn't follow my plan. It was super-slippy Tarmac in places and I couldn't trust the grip. It wasn't ideal, but I'll keep going.
28. 10. 2023 13:18 CET 11 flash info (13 - Munster Grégoire / Louka Louis): I stalled in a hairpin and had to restart the car, so that's quite surprising. It's really tricky and I tried to stay efficient.
28. 10. 2023 13:18 CET 11 flash info (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): It was very tricky, the most difficult stage of the loop. Our wet tyre was dead before the start before we got through.
28. 10. 2023 11:57 CET 11 (20 - Mikkelsen Andreas / Eriksen Torstein): was out of the road
28. 10. 2023 11:29 CET 11 retired (33 - Evans Elfyn / Martin Scott): accident in SS 11
28. 10. 2023 11:07 CET 11 Road surface is damp, air temperature 10°C
28. 10. 2023 15:22 CET 10 (66 - Nešetřil Petr / Černoch Jiří): puncture
28. 10. 2023 13:24 CET 10 retired (60 - Van Den Brink Mitchel / van Heun Bart): retired after SS 10
28. 10. 2023 13:23 CET 10 retired (81 - Šekuljica Slaven / Petrović Damir): retired in SS 10
28. 10. 2023 13:23 CET 10 retired (32 - McErlean Joshua / Fulton James): technical problem - water pump in SS 10
28. 10. 2023 13:22 CET 10 retired (57 - Ravenščak Martin / Ravenščak Dora): accident in SS 10
28. 10. 2023 13:22 CET 10 retired (50 - Fukunaga Osamu / Saida Misako): accident in SS 10
28. 10. 2023 13:17 CET 10 flash info (69 - Rovanperä Kalle / Halttunen Jonne): I just had a spin in one slippy braking, which was much more slippier than I expected. It's definitely tricky to know where the guys are pulling the dirt onto the road. Everything should be okay, let's try to stay on the Tarmac now.
28. 10. 2023 13:17 CET 10 flash info (11 - Neuville Thierry / Wydaeghe Martijn): A very challenging stage to be honest. It was okay, but still not as I would like. We are getting closer to what we need to go fast and we did a good stage. It was a bit more enjoyable than the stages we have done so far.
28. 10. 2023 13:16 CET 10 flash info (33 - Evans Elfyn / Martin Scott): Quite okay. The grip was quite mixed, some places quite good but in others there was very little. We have to continue to do what we can.
28. 10. 2023 13:16 CET 10 flash info (8 - Tänak Ott / Järveoja Martin): We had a puncture on the road section. It was demanding actually, but at the end it started to work a bit. This little bump at the end put the hybrid off as well.
28. 10. 2023 13:14 CET 10 flash info (18 - Katsuta Takamoto / Johnston Aaron): No issues, just so many surprises. I could not trust the pace notes, it's not easy.
28. 10. 2023 13:13 CET 10 flash info (17 - Ogier Sébastien / Landais Vincent): The end was a bit better, but I really struggled at the start. Some little misunderstanding with the notes and not such a good start to the stage for sure.
28. 10. 2023 13:13 CET 10 flash info (3 - Suninen Teemu / Markkula Mikko): My focus is to improve my driving and become a bit faster.
28. 10. 2023 13:13 CET 10 flash info (13 - Munster Grégoire / Louka Louis): I tried to be smooth in all of the junctions to exit properly but I am still struggling with the rear of the car.
28. 10. 2023 13:12 CET 10 flash info (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): We lost the front tyres completely 5km before the end, so I was very cautoious. We did a small mistake on a junction and went wide - it was full of mud.
28. 10. 2023 10:48 CET 10 (69 - Rovanperä Kalle / Halttunen Jonne): Went off in hairpin, lost 15-20 sec
28. 10. 2023 15:21 CET 9 (66 - Nešetřil Petr / Černoch Jiří): was out of road
28. 10. 2023 13:20 CET 9 retired (56 - Schwarz Fabio / Ettel Bernhard): retired in SS 9
28. 10. 2023 09:40 CET 9 flash info (69 - Rovanperä Kalle / Halttunen Jonne): I think it was quite a good start. We started with quite a careful pace, nothing too much, and for sure the guys are pushing. Let's just try to make the day through with a good feeling a keep the gaps well.
28. 10. 2023 09:39 CET 9 flash info (11 - Neuville Thierry / Wydaeghe Martijn): There was a bit of rain, but not too much. I am still struggling a bit with the handling in general. Towards the end on a lot of long corners I do not have the confidence to commit and carry on through. Now we will make some small changes to see what we can do.
28. 10. 2023 08:44 CET 9 flash info (33 - Evans Elfyn / Martin Scott): Like always in these conditions, there are always places where you could go better but it felt okay. It's tricky to always find the balance.
28. 10. 2023 08:43 CET 9 flash info (8 - Tänak Ott / Järveoja Martin): It's a bit less wet, still very tricky in places with many grip changes. It's not much easier.
28. 10. 2023 08:42 CET 9 flash info (18 - Katsuta Takamoto / Johnston Aaron): Most of the sections were big surprises because after the gravel crews the gravel is coming more and more. There were a lot of surprises on the pace notes, it's not so nice.
28. 10. 2023 08:42 CET 9 flash info (17 - Ogier Sébastien / Landais Vincent): It's still not a great stage for me, but it's okay. It's still getting pretty dirty after a few cars so we will try to get a decent rhythm. Today I feel a little bit better so I have to try to make a better day.
28. 10. 2023 08:41 CET 9 flash info (3 - Suninen Teemu / Markkula Mikko): It was bad driving. I missed one 90-degree junction. It was just one slippy corner and after that I didn't have the confidence to push.
28. 10. 2023 08:40 CET 9 flash info (13 - Munster Grégoire / Louka Louis): I was a tiny bit too late on the brakes and I had to go straight on and pull the handbrake, a bit in the grass.
28. 10. 2023 08:35 CET 9 (13 - Munster Grégoire / Louka Louis): missed junction
28. 10. 2023 07:37 CET 9 Weather in Passau is semi-cloudy, roads are wet.
28. 10. 2023 07:02 CET 8 retired (50 - Fukunaga Osamu / Saida Misako): accident in SS 8
27. 10. 2023 18:25 CET 8 flash info (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): On the first braking, the front completely locked. I was not thinking that it was so slippery and I went straight into the side. When I went to change the wheel, all the mud was on the tools so I was not able to change it immediately.
27. 10. 2023 18:25 CET 8 flash info (13 - Munster Grégoire / Louka Louis): It's been really tricky. A lot of mud, but nice stages. It's really tricky to find where the limit is in these cars.
27. 10. 2023 18:24 CET 8 flash info (3 - Suninen Teemu / Markkula Mikko): Not the best day but learning step by step. Super difficult day, lots of cuts, difficult to reach the level but hopefully we can do better tomorrow.
27. 10. 2023 18:24 CET 8 flash info (18 - Katsuta Takamoto / Johnston Aaron): The conditions are changing a lot. Even in this one, before the stage there was no rain but when we came to the stage it started to rain. It's very tricky.
27. 10. 2023 18:23 CET 8 (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): puncture
27. 10. 2023 18:23 CET 8 flash info (8 - Tänak Ott / Järveoja Martin): We have no gear lever. It was not too bad, I think the last five kilometres or something like that. I don't know why it happens to me, probably too much time in the gym!
27. 10. 2023 18:23 CET 8 (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): was out of road
27. 10. 2023 18:22 CET 8 flash info (11 - Neuville Thierry / Wydaeghe Martijn): It was getting more and more rainy, so I thought we were losing time. Maybe in some places it cleaned the road, I don't know. I am constantly on the limit of the grip in the car, we just went this morning with too stiff of a set-up.
27. 10. 2023 18:22 CET 8 flash info (33 - Evans Elfyn / Martin Scott): I knew. I sort of had a few moments in some slippy places and it still looked bad, and I wasn't using the full potential in some places. Not a good run.
27. 10. 2023 18:22 CET 8 flash info (69 - Rovanperä Kalle / Halttunen Jonne): It has been super tricky today. Luckily, the weather was for once on our side with the starting position, it was good to be the first car on the road. We can be happy with our day.
27. 10. 2023 15:43 CET 8 Start of stage will be delayed for 17 minutes.
27. 10. 2023 19:41 CET 7 (30 - Linnamäe Georg / Morgan James): was out of road
27. 10. 2023 18:30 CET 7 retired (75 - Weigert Timo / Weigert Jasmin): accident in SS 7
27. 10. 2023 18:21 CET 7 flash info (13 - Munster Grégoire / Louka Louis): The tyre was overheating and we made the whole car softer. When you are in the cuts it's okay, but on the dry Tarmac it's moving a lot. A bit of a new feeling so I didn't want to risk anything.
27. 10. 2023 18:21 CET 7 flash info (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): I am trying to do what I can but we are struggling a bit. I think it was not so bad in the stage but the time is not so nice.
27. 10. 2023 18:21 CET 7 flash info (3 - Suninen Teemu / Markkula Mikko): It's tricky - slippy. I think I took it too carefully in the muddy places but I will try to improve my driving.
27. 10. 2023 18:20 CET 7 flash info (18 - Katsuta Takamoto / Johnston Aaron): Very, very tricky. Even more high-speed than the previous one and lots of mud. We had a big moment also, the mud pulled us out and we were nearly into the big trees. Quite lucky!
27. 10. 2023 18:20 CET 7 flash info (17 - Ogier Sébastien / Landais Vincent): I feel okay, we are just going through basically.
27. 10. 2023 18:20 CET 7 flash info (8 - Tänak Ott / Järveoja Martin): Nothing new, we are just coming through. The conditions are probably still getting worse and worse.
27. 10. 2023 18:20 CET 7 flash info (11 - Neuville Thierry / Wydaeghe Martijn): The tyre is moving a bit, but generally I have no grip. I am really fighting to keep the car on the road, but it is what it is. It was drying a bit in sections but as soon as you want to go a bit faster you go into the dirt. Not an easy stage but definitely better conditions than this morning.
27. 10. 2023 18:19 CET 7 flash info (33 - Evans Elfyn / Martin Scott): I had a really bad feeling, so I was hoping he was a bit the same but clearly not. The tyres were moving quite a lot to be honest.
27. 10. 2023 18:19 CET 7 flash info (69 - Rovanperä Kalle / Halttunen Jonne): I was quite careful on the first stage of this loop, because it was the first time for me when we had so much mud. Now it was a bit more clear how to go, and I tried to go a bit faster. Hopefully it's a good time.
27. 10. 2023 15:42 CET 7 Stage was started at 15:41.
27. 10. 2023 15:20 CET 7 Start of stage will be delayed.
27. 10. 2023 18:30 CET 6 retired (35 - Cachon Alejandro / Lopez Alejandro): technical problem before SS 6
27. 10. 2023 18:19 CET 6 flash info (18 - Katsuta Takamoto / Johnston Aaron): For sure, some sections are a bit drier but there is still a lot of mud. For me, the bigger problem is that I have no hybrid. It's okay, I am used to this, but I have a lot of hybrid issues.
27. 10. 2023 18:19 CET 6 flash info (17 - Ogier Sébastien / Landais Vincent): The gravel crew is important, but here not so much because it's full of mud anyway from the morning. We knew this after the first pass already.
27. 10. 2023 18:18 CET 6 flash info (11 - Neuville Thierry / Wydaeghe Martijn): To be honest, I can't do more. I had a clean stage in there and I am doing what I can at the moment. This morning the conditions were very tricky and getting dirtier and dirtier, now it's very similar and I am doing what I can. It's not what it should be - we made the wrong set-up choice and there is nothing we could do with no midday service.
27. 10. 2023 18:18 CET 6 flash info (33 - Evans Elfyn / Martin Scott): I'm not sure anybody is going to get a good feeling in here to be honest, they're pretty horrific conditions but we did what we could.
27. 10. 2023 18:17 CET 6 flash info (69 - Rovanperä Kalle / Halttunen Jonne): It's definitely quite tricky, even though the weather is drying up the stage is really dirty. I hope this one was the worst of the loop, but I don't know.
27. 10. 2023 15:09 CET 6 Stage cancelled due to safety reasons (spectators).
27. 10. 2023 15:08 CET 6 Stage is stopped for safety reasons.
27. 10. 2023 18:29 CET 5 retired (45 - von Thurn und Taxis Albert / Hain Jara): technical problem - brakes after SS 5
27. 10. 2023 18:28 CET 5 retired (81 - Šekuljica Slaven / Petrović Damir): accident in SS 5
27. 10. 2023 18:17 CET 5 flash info (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): It's tough. The conditions are very difficult and the grip was very strange in this one. It was demanding.
27. 10. 2023 18:17 CET 5 flash info (3 - Suninen Teemu / Markkula Mikko): It's getting super-muddy and I don't have the trust or confidence to push there.
27. 10. 2023 18:16 CET 5 flash info (18 - Katsuta Takamoto / Johnston Aaron): Quite messy in some places. I think the afternoon is going to be even worse, so let's see.
27. 10. 2023 18:16 CET 5 flash info (17 - Ogier Sébastien / Landais Vincent): It hasn't been a great day so far...
27. 10. 2023 18:16 CET 5 flash info (8 - Tänak Ott / Järveoja Martin): It's been rough. The conditions here were a bit more consistent but I can't say we are really going fast at the moment.
27. 10. 2023 18:15 CET 5 flash info (11 - Neuville Thierry / Wydaeghe Martijn): My stage wasn't too bad, so 12 seconds is a lot. The road is getting dirty so there's not much we can do. I think we kept the springs from shakedown which are obviously far too hard, and I have to carry on the whole day now with that set-up.
27. 10. 2023 18:15 CET 5 flash info (33 - Evans Elfyn / Martin Scott): A bit more tricky, a bit narrow. Again, I was kicking myself for being a bit too careful in some places but it's pretty difficult in these conditions.
27. 10. 2023 18:14 CET 5 retired (4 - Lappi Esapekka / Ferm Janne): accident in SS 5
27. 10. 2023 18:14 CET 5 flash info (69 - Rovanperä Kalle / Halttunen Jonne): I don't think the push has been big, but I think the conditions are for sure good for the first car and the driving has been good.
27. 10. 2023 18:12 CET 5 (69 - Rovanperä Kalle / Halttunen Jonne): overshoot junction
27. 10. 2023 12:51 CET 5 The stage will be interrupted due behaviour of spectators.
30. 10. 2023 18:04 CET 4 (36 - Ciamin Nicolas / Roche Yannick): spun
27. 10. 2023 18:27 CET 4 retired (74 - Yein Dai-Wei / Hsieh Tsung-Yu): accident in SS 4
27. 10. 2023 18:12 CET 4 flash info (20 - Mikkelsen Andreas / Eriksen Torstein): I didn't expect the gravel in the corner there, there was something on the inside and we just went too fast. The rear-left is out so we have to do some mechanical work.
27. 10. 2023 18:12 CET 4 flash info (18 - Katsuta Takamoto / Johnston Aaron): For sure, some sections feel good but in some sections the conditions are changing a lot. It's very difficult to trust the information so we just need to find the balance.
27. 10. 2023 18:11 CET 4 flash info (4 - Lappi Esapekka / Ferm Janne): It's fine. I mean, for sure you need to be safe. There is a lot of mud coming from the cuts so you cannot commit like you would like to, but when you know there is an anti-cut then you can do it. It's just balancing between these two approaches, let's say.
27. 10. 2023 18:11 CET 4 flash info (17 - Ogier Sébastien / Landais Vincent): I have no motivation...
27. 10. 2023 18:11 CET 4 flash info (8 - Tänak Ott / Järveoja Martin): We are out of options and I have no tools to put the wet set-up in this car. It's undriveable for me. I can drive a bit faster but then we have some moments. It's not forgiving at all.
27. 10. 2023 18:10 CET 4 flash info (11 - Neuville Thierry / Wydaeghe Martijn): The conditions are really, really tricky. The visibility is bad and I lost the car a couple of times in the fast sections. We need to work on the set-up to make it more progressive.
27. 10. 2023 18:10 CET 4 flash info (33 - Evans Elfyn / Martin Scott): No issues, just a bit careful I think. That's all.
27. 10. 2023 18:10 CET 4 flash info (69 - Rovanperä Kalle / Halttunen Jonne): It was not so easy to get into the pace here. We got the information that this one would be more wet than the first one but I think I was a bit too careful in some places.
27. 10. 2023 18:09 CET 4 (11 - Neuville Thierry / Wydaeghe Martijn): missed junction
27. 10. 2023 11:18 CET 4 (20 - Mikkelsen Andreas / Eriksen Torstein): was out of the road in SS 4
28. 10. 2023 09:41 CET 3 (44 - Vojtěch Štěpán / Ernst Michal): puncture
27. 10. 2023 19:18 CET 3 (39 - Wagner Simon / Winter Gerald): puncture
27. 10. 2023 19:18 CET 3 (25 - Gryazin Nikolay / Aleksandrov Konstantin): puncture
27. 10. 2023 19:14 CET 3 (24 - Fourmaux Adrien / Coria Alexandre): puncture
27. 10. 2023 18:25 CET 3 retired (57 - Ravenščak Martin / Ravenščak Dora): retired before SS 3
27. 10. 2023 18:08 CET 3 flash info (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): Difficult! Very demanding, I was surprised by the grip - it was changing a lot and it started to be very muddy on the road. It's very easy to do a mistake.
27. 10. 2023 18:08 CET 3 flash info (18 - Katsuta Takamoto / Johnston Aaron): It's hard to trust the pace notes because so much mud is coming. For sure the gravel crew did a good job but there is still a lot of things that are unexpected. It's not easy.
27. 10. 2023 18:07 CET 3 flash info (4 - Lappi Esapekka / Ferm Janne): I am very, very, very, very much surprised! For sure, as we saw, it gets muddier and muddier. I was not expecting this kind of time but I will take it!
27. 10. 2023 18:07 CET 3 flash info (17 - Ogier Sébastien / Landais Vincent): Unbelievable... What can I say? On the road there is already a lot of dirt. I can't wait when Michelin is back.
27. 10. 2023 18:07 CET 3 flash info (8 - Tänak Ott / Järveoja Martin): No story at all... It's difficult to drive, a bit of a challenge.
27. 10. 2023 18:06 CET 3 flash info (11 - Neuville Thierry / Wydaeghe Martijn): I was struggling to see the road. I opened all the windows to get some air in but it's getting very, very dirty.
27. 10. 2023 18:06 CET 3 flash info (33 - Evans Elfyn / Martin Scott): Quite muddy, especially in the cuts. Not easy trying to feel your way into the grip. A difficult start.
27. 10. 2023 18:06 CET 3 flash info (69 - Rovanperä Kalle / Halttunen Jonne): It's difficult. The condition is much more trickier on the first pass for us. All of the gravel crews took a lot of dirt on the road, and there is a lot of water also.
27. 10. 2023 10:55 CET 3 SS continues.
27. 10. 2023 10:49 CET 3 SS3 has been interrupted whilst medical crews carry out precautionary checks on the crew of car #21.
27. 10. 2023 10:34 CET 3 (22 - Greensmith Gus / Andersson Jonas): puncture (rear right)
27. 10. 2023 10:29 CET 3 retired (21 - Rossel Yohan / Dunand Arnaud): accident in SS 1
27. 10. 2023 10:24 CET 3 (18 - Katsuta Takamoto / Johnston Aaron): puncture (front right)
27. 10. 2023 10:15 CET 3 (17 - Ogier Sébastien / Landais Vincent): puncture (front right)
27. 10. 2023 09:22 CET 3 Weather is rainy and cloudy, roads are wet.
27. 10. 2023 09:20 CET 3 retired (67 - Rada Martin / Jugas Jaroslav): technical problem before SS 3
27. 10. 2023 07:08 CET 2 retired (77 - Windischberger Christian / Treybal Peter): administrative problem (wrong registration plate) after SS 2
27. 10. 2023 07:08 CET 2 retired (51 - Boland Eamonn / "MJ" ..): administrative problem (wrong registration plate) after SS 2
27. 10. 2023 07:07 CET 2 retired (40 - Gamba Matteo / Gonella Nicoló): administrative problem (wrong registration plate) after SS 2
27. 10. 2023 07:06 CET 2 retired (37 - Korhonen Roope / Viinikka Anssi): administrative problem (wrong registration plate) after SS 2
27. 10. 2023 01:43 CET 2 (64 - Fontana Matteo / Arnaboldi Alessandro): rolled
26. 10. 2023 20:47 CET 2 flash info (13 - Munster Grégoire / Louka Louis): It's quite nice. You can improve every lap a bit, but we started without the handbrake and I had to give some throttle push to make it turn. We are here.
26. 10. 2023 20:47 CET 2 flash info (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): It was okay. Not an easy stage to start and I was surprised that the grip was very low. Tomorrow looks to be very demanding, I think.
26. 10. 2023 20:47 CET 2 flash info (3 - Suninen Teemu / Markkula Mikko): I must say, it was really tricky. My first time in the wet with this car and I was quite steady. We need to keep going.
26. 10. 2023 20:46 CET 2 flash info (18 - Katsuta Takamoto / Johnston Aaron): It was not fully dark, so not so easy to see. At the same time, these anti-cut devices are reflecting a lot and in some corners I couldn't really see anything. Everything is fine, I was just a bit steady because it didn't feel so good.
26. 10. 2023 20:46 CET 2 flash info (4 - Lappi Esapekka / Ferm Janne): I think there was a lot of people but I'm not sure. It was a bit on the edge whether the lights are really showing you anything or not, but all good. A nice stage.
26. 10. 2023 20:45 CET 2 flash info (17 - Ogier Sébastien / Landais Vincent): I didn't have any feeling on this stage. It was a difficult one for me but, okay, the real start is tomorrow.
26. 10. 2023 20:45 CET 2 flash info (8 - Tänak Ott / Järveoja Martin): It was a bit challenging. There was not too much water but it's just wet enough to not get the temperature into the tyres. Very sketchy in places but we made it through.
26. 10. 2023 20:45 CET 2 flash info (11 - Neuville Thierry / Wydaeghe Martijn): It was not the greatest stage. I don't know about the tyres - I think it was in between the wet and the soft, and I decided to go to the soft at the very last moment. The anti-cuts are reflecting from the lights so you can't see very well, but we had a clean run through.
26. 10. 2023 20:44 CET 2 flash info (33 - Evans Elfyn / Martin Scott): I had an overshoot at one of the junctions - just locked up under braking. It's a shame for that.
26. 10. 2023 20:42 CET 2 (33 - Evans Elfyn / Martin Scott): missed junction
26. 10. 2023 20:42 CET 2 flash info (69 - Rovanperä Kalle / Halttunen Jonne): Definitely it was not so wet anymore. We expected a bit of rain here, so let's hope it's not drying up for the others much more. As long we are on an okay pace with Elfyn, that's fine for me.
26. 10. 2023 20:40 CET 2 Starting order: Rovanperä, Evans, Neuville, Tänak, Ogier, Lappi, Katsuta, Suninen, Loubet, Munster, Cais, Mikkelsen, Rossel...
26. 10. 2023 20:39 CET 2 Weather in Klatovy is cloudy, roads are damp after previous rain, but getting dry.
26. 10. 2023 20:39 CET 1 retired (73 - Borodin Petr / Cheprassov Roman): technical problem - driveshaft after SS 1
26. 10. 2023 20:38 CET 1 flash info (13 - Munster Grégoire / Louka Louis): It's just about learning, like now - our first time with crossed tyres on dry Tarmac. I think it's going to be a fun weekend.
26. 10. 2023 20:37 CET 1 flash info (7 - Loubet Pierre-Louis / Veillas Benjamin): It was a good start but not easy to find the confidence in here. On full wet tyres it wasn't the best idea, but the rally will be long.
26. 10. 2023 20:35 CET 1 flash info (3 - Suninen Teemu / Markkula Mikko): I wish to get the experience from the car and try to improve my driving. We are going to face very different conditions and very different stages, so hopefully it will be a good learning curve for me.
26. 10. 2023 20:35 CET 1 flash info (4 - Lappi Esapekka / Ferm Janne): Today will be really nice, it will be quite a clean track with maybe some dampness. Tomorrow is another story. It's going to be very challenging - very fast but narrow.
26. 10. 2023 20:35 CET 1 flash info (17 - Ogier Sébastien / Landais Vincent): I think it's never easy to win any rally, but this one is new and the condition seems to be challenging tomorrow. We will see.
26. 10. 2023 20:34 CET 1 flash info (8 - Tänak Ott / Järveoja Martin): Today, on these super special stages, the tyres can't make much difference. They are quite mixed.
26. 10. 2023 20:34 CET 1 flash info (11 - Neuville Thierry / Wydaeghe Martijn): It's a good start then, but there are some more guys to come behind. We're going to go for it. There's a championship fight going on at the front so the rhythm will be high, but we know that on Tarmac we are usually fast.
26. 10. 2023 20:33 CET 1 flash info (33 - Evans Elfyn / Martin Scott): It doesn't mean so much just at the moment. Okay, bit better grip than expected and all okay. It was all a bit of a panic before the start with this very short turnaround.
26. 10. 2023 20:32 CET 1 flash info (69 - Rovanperä Kalle / Halttunen Jonne): It was not the best start. We were in the regroup and then the timing changed and we didn't have much time to get ready for the stage. I have a racehorse myself with my friends, and I have seen her running on the track but I have never driven on one myself! It was fun.
26. 10. 2023 20:30 CET 1 Starting order: Cais, Rovanperä, Evans, Neuville, Tänak, Ogier, Lappi, Katsuta, Suninen, Loubet, Munster, Gryazin, Fourmaux, Pajari, Greensmith, Rossel, Mikkelsen
26. 10. 2023 20:28 CET 1 Weather in Prague is sunny, roads are dry.
25. 10. 2023 16:50 CET SHAKEDOWN Shakedown continues.
25. 10. 2023 16:27 CET SHAKEDOWN Shakedown has been interrupted due to the requirement of emergency service vehicles on the stage to attend a non rally-related matter in the local area.