Deutschland : Ford news after SS3

BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team made a solid start to Rallye Deutschland to hold third and fourth places after the opening morning’s competition in the vineyards of Germany’s Mosel region. Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila are third in a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, with team-mates and fellow countrymen Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen just 3.6sec behind in fourth.

This ninth round of the FIA World Rally Championship began yesterday evening when huge crowds packed into the centre of Trier for the start ceremony beneath the city’s Roman Porta Nigra gate. The action began in earnest this morning when the 78 starters journeyed east of the city into the heart of the wine-growing area. They tackled three asphalt speed tests covering 67.02km over woodland roads and tracks among the vines.

Latvala was third through the 24.01km Ruwertal / Fell special stage before claiming fifth in the following 23.09km Grafschaft Veldenz. The 25-year-old, like Hirvonen, opted for Pirelli’s soft compound tyres and ended the loop with fourth fastest time in the 19.92km Moselland.

"Soft tyres were the right option for this morning, although the temperatures are climbing now and harder rubber might be the better choice this afternoon," he said. "I’m faster here than I was in the last asphalt round in Bulgaria so we’ve made progress since then. I need to cut out the small mistakes. I’ve not made any major errors but the small ones have cost some time."

Hirvonen was fourth in the opening two tests to hold a slender lead over Latvala, before taking fifth in Moselland after stalling his car and dropping behind his team-mate. "There’s a lot of dirt on the road and it’s difficult to get my confidence with the changing grip. I’m losing some seconds because of that but perhaps I have also been a little over-cautious. I stalled the engine at a junction in the last stage but I’m happy with the car and I’m not planning any changes for the afternoon," said the 30-year-old.

Abu Dhabi’s Khalid Al Qassimi and Michael Orr are 21st in the team’s other Focus RS WRC. They dropped more than two minutes after sliding into a ditch near the start of the opening stage.