“Mission accomplished,” rejoiced Pröglhöf, who increased his lead in the overall standings to 31 points at the halfway point of the season. “We had prepared as best as possible, studied a lot of onboards from last year and made perfect pace notes. We quickly got into the rhythm and were able to set a fast pace without having to take too many risks.” On the ninth special stage, the Austrian even set the 10th fastest time in the overall field in his Corsa Rally Electric, which boasts 100 kW (136 hp) and 260 Nm of torque; Pröglhöf/Ettel left behind some all-wheel drive cars that were twice as powerful. “Downhill it’s just fire away!” laughed Pröglhöf. “The Corsa Rally Electric handles fantastically, and after three years I trust myself and the car so much that I can push myself to the limit in these sections. It was great fun again.”
Rott was also happy with his performance again, but the Alsatian wants more: “We had prepared very well for the Rallye Weiz after things didn’t go so well here last year. I benefited a lot from Hervé’s experience. We got a good feel for the changing grip conditions and felt comfortable in the car. Now we hope that we can do a little better in Stemwede and put more pressure on our friend Luca.” With the podium finish, Alex Español moved up to third place in the overall rankings: “It was a difficult rally, we struggled to find our rhythm on the first day. Congratulations to Luca, he was unbeatable here. But all in all, I am also happy with my performance.”
The fastest woman in the field this time was the Belgian Lyssia Baudet, with Frenchwoman Lea Sam-Caw-Frève in the co-driver’s seat. Baudet, supported by the Belgian automobile association RACB, finished fourth ahead of the French FFSA sponsored drivers Emma Chalvin/Emy Ailloud-Perraud, who thus retained their fourth place in the interim rankings. “The first rally with Lea went really well,” said Lyssia Baudet happily. “The rally was very challenging due to the constantly changing grip conditions, but we got better and better. Fourth place is great, but I won’t be really happy until we can move up a bit.”
