The start of the new day was bad for the rally leader Sebastien Ogier. The Frenchman broke his suspension after his mistake.
Ogier comments: I missed the braking point. I didn’t have it in my notes. I went into the vineyard a bit and hit something and damaged the front.
Sebastien Ogier finished the stage at 30th position with delay of 2:33.3 minutes by the stage winner Thierry Neuville. Latvala is the new rally leader after SS3 Mittelmosel 1 (22.95 km) followed by Neuville at +5.8.
In the next SS4 Moselland 1 (22.79 km) Thierry Neuville attack the leader of the rally Jari-Matti Latvala with his first stage win in Germany to close the gap with Latvala at 4.4 seconds. Dani Sordo with C. Barrion made a good stage with second position at +0.2 seconds although that Sordo is not happy with the car settings. The big looser is Sebastien Ogier who stopped in the stage and is out of the car. The comments for Ogier by Neuville: I think Ogier's suspension broke. We had to slow down a little bit, I was surprised to see the car in the middle of the road, particularly after a jump. I was a little bit in panic but it is ok, you can pass. I have to get use to the car, I don't feel comfortable yet.
And another comment by Latvala: Ogier stopped on the stage. I think he repaired broken wheel, but he had spun on the braking. He was out of the car and I don't think he will continue. I try, I have never been comfortable on this stage. A little bit understeer, I am not 100% satisfied. I need a little modification with the car.
In the last stage the service park before SE5 Grafschaft 1 (19.94 km) the Belgium star Thierry Neuville finished at the top followed by Jari-Matti Latvala at +2.0 seconds. In the starting rain some of the drivers comments:
Latvala: Started raining did not really affected us, couple of places was a little bit slippery. I have two soft tyres on the car.
Neuville: It was a good stage, on some places the tarmac was a little bit slippy, otherwise I feel quite comfortable.
Results after SS 5:
1. J. Latvala / M. Anttila (Volkswagen Polo R WRC) 59:12.6
2. T. Neuville / N. Gilsoul (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +2.4
3. D. Sordo / C. Barrio (Citroen DS3 WRC) +15.1
4. M. Hirvonen / J. Lehtinen (Citroen DS3 WRC) +28.3
5. M. Ostberg / J. Andersson (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +1:20.3
6. M. Prokop / M. Ernst (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +2:45.3
There are 3 stages to run after the service park now.