SS18: German despair for Meeke

Kris Meeke’s hopes of snatching fifth place from Petter Solberg on ADAC Rallye Deutschland are over after his MINI John Cooper Works WRC suffered a loss of power and stopped on the event’s penultimate stage.

Although the Northern Irishman is currently trying to rectify the fault - a suspected alternator issue - to ensure he reaches the rally finish in Trier this afternoon, he is set to drop down the leaderboard.

Solberg’s run through the test wasn’t problem-free either. The Citroen privateer, who started the test with a 7.1s lead over Meeke, said: “I went straight in a junction and lost a lot of seconds there. It was so slippery on the braking, we are trying. We can’t calm down even if we have a lead. The car is okay and we will try hard in the Power Stage but it will be difficult.”

Out front, Sebasien Ogier’s lead over Citroen team-mate Sebastien Loeb is 41.8s as he continues to adopt a cautious approach: “I made a mistake in Argentina when I was leading close to the end so I don’t want to do the same thing here,” said Ogier. “I’m taking it very easy.”

Loeb, who won the stage, said: “There is no need to push hard now, it’s drying up and it is not so tricky. I just went through the stage. We will have to try for sure in the Power Stage but I am not the only one who wants those points.”

In the battle for third, factory MINI pilot Dani Sordo is 31.0s clear of Mikko Hirvonen with one stage remaining. “This stage was really quiet, no punctures and no mistakes,” said Sordo. “The gap to Mikko is a little bit big so I am happy.”

“It was okay, I didn’t push to the limit any more - I just wanted to come through and make sure everything is okay for the next stage with the tyres,” said Ford driver Hirvonen.

Standings after SS18: