Strong start for Red Bull Juniors in Germany

Red Bull Rallye drivers Hermann Gassner Jr and Patrik Sandell will start day two of Rallye Deutschland firmly in contention for podium finishes in their respective championships.

Gassner Jr, from Germany, is fourth in the Production Car World Rally Championship division, while Swede Sandell is third in the Super 2000 World Rally Championship after a tough opening day of action on the all-asphalt event in Trier.

In baking sunshine and ambient temperatures approaching 30 degrees centigrade, Gassner Jr opted for a calm approach in his Baumschlager Rallye & Racing-run Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. Chasing PWRC points for the first time this season following his nomination by the event organisers as a wildcard entrant, Gassner drove without fault throughout Friday’s six stages.

"Saturday is a very important day because it’s the longest of the rally and we expect the temperatures to be very high so there was not point doing anything stupid today," said the 21-year-old from Surheim. "To be fourth overnight means my tactic has worked. We had some small oversteer in the morning but changes to the dampers at service made the handling much better."

After reporting a trouble-free opening trio of stages, Sandell started the afternoon loop full of confidence at the wheel of his BRR-prepared Skoda Fabia Super 2000. Unfortunately for the former Junior world champion, an overshoot on stage four cost him 15 seconds and left him trailing SWRC leader Martin Prokop by 17.8s heading into Saturday’s stages.

"Even though I have not been here since 2007 I do like this rally," said Sandell. "I had a good test in Austria beforehand and was happy with my start today by not pushing too hard and taking any big risks. We went for the soft compound tyre in the morning and by stage three it had started to wear just a little bit, but it really was no problem. To be third after day one on what is such a long and tough rally is a good position to be in and I am excited for Saturday."

Team boss Raimund Baumschlager said: "Both Hermann and Patrik have performed well today with no major problems. Tomorrow is another long day and we know it won’t be easy. But they are good drivers who know what they have to do. I am optimistic for a successful second day of the rally."

Saturday’s leg consists of eight stages and a competitive distance of 185.94 kilometres. The first stage gets underway at 07:48hrs local time.