The 2019 Rallye Deutschland (also known as ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2019) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over four days between 22 and 25 August 2019. It marked the thirty-seventh running of Rallye Deutschland and was the tenth round of the 2019 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and the newly created WRC-2 Pro class. The 2019 event was based at the Bostalsee in Saarland, and was contested over nineteen special stages with a total a competitive distance of .
Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja were the defending rally winners. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the defending manufacturers' winners. The Škoda Motorsport crew of Jan Kopecký and Pavel Dresler were the defending winners in the World Rally Championship-2 category, but they did not defend their titles as they were promoted to the newly created WRC-2 Pro class.
Tänak and Järveoja successfully defended their titles to get German hat-trick. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, won the rally and covered all three podium places for the first time since 1993 Safari Rally. The Škoda Motorsport crew of Jan Kopecký and Pavel Dresler took their first victory of the season in the WRC-2 Pro category, finishing first in the combined WRC-2 category, while the local crew of Fabian Kreim and Tobias Braun won the wider WRC-2 class.
Background Championship standings prior to the event Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja led both the drivers' and co-drivers' championships with a twenty-two-point ahead of defending world champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia. Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul were third, a further three points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT held a twenty-four-point lead over Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT.
In the World Rally Championship-2 Pro standings, Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen held a thirty-eight-point lead ahead of Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively. Gus Greensmith and Elliott Edmondson were third, another thirteen points further back. In the manufacturers' championship, Škoda Motorsport led M-Sport Ford WRT by three points, with Citroën Total sixty-one points behind in third.
In the World Rally Championship-2 standings, Benito Guerra and Jaime Zapata led the drivers' and co-drivers' standings by eighteen points respectively. Pierre-Louis Loubet and Vincent Landais crew and Nikolay Gryazin and Yaroslav Fedorov crew tied in second.
Entry list The following crews entered into the rally. The event opened to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2, WRC-2 Pro and privateer entries not registered to score points in any championship. A total of fifty-five entries were received, with eleven crews entered with World Rally Cars and nineteen entered the World Rally Championship-2. Four crews were nominated to score points in the Pro class.
No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre World Rally Car entries 1 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Citroën Total WRT Citroën C3 WRC 3 Teemu Suninen Jarmo Lehtinen M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 4 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Citroën Total WRT Citroën C3 WRC 5 Kris Meeke Sebastian Marshall Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 6 Dani Sordo Carlos del Barrio Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 10 Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 11 Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 17 Takamoto Katsuta Daniel Barritt Tommi Mäkinen Racing Toyota Yaris WRC 44 Gus Greensmith Elliott Edmondson M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 89 Andreas Mikkelsen Anders Jæger-Amland Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC World Rally Championship-2 Pro entries 21 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 22 Mads Østberg Torstein Eriksen Citroën Total Citroën C3 R5 23 Jan Kopecký Pavel Dresler Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 24 Eric Camilli Benjamin Veillas M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II World Rally Championship-2 entries 41 Nikolay Gryazin Yaroslav Fedorov Nikolay Gryazin Škoda Fabia R5 43 Kajetan Kajetanowicz Maciej Szczepaniak Kajetan Kajetanowicz Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 45 Fabio Andolfi Simone Scattolin Fabio Andolfi Škoda Fabia R5 46 Rhys Yates James Morgan Rhys Yates Škoda Fabia R5 47 Adrien Fourmaux Renaud Jamoul Adrien Fourmaux Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 48 Simone Tempestini Sergiu Itu Simone Tempestini Hyundai i20 R5 49 Guillaume De Mevius Martijn Wydaeghe Guillaume De Mevius Citroën C3 R5 50 Nicolas Ciamin Yannick Roche Nicolas Ciamin Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 51 Sébastien Bedoret Thomas Walbrecq Sébastien Bedoret Škoda Fabia R5 52 "Pedro" Emanuele Baldaccini "Pedro" Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 53 Stéphane Lefebvre Thomas Dubois Stéphane Lefebvre Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 54 Marijan Griebel Pirmin Winklhofer Marijan Griebel Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 55 Fabian Kreim Tobias Braun Fabian Kreim Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 56 Dominik Dinkel Christina Fürst Dominik Dinkel Hyundai i20 R5 57 Sebastian Schwinn Felix Griebel Sebastian Schwinn Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 Other Major Entries 72 Kris Princen Peter Kaspers Kris Princen Citroën DS3 WRC 73 Stéphane Sarrazin Jacques-Julien Renucci Stéphane Sarrazin Hyundai i20 R5 Source:
Route The competitive distance was increased from the 2018 event, while the liaison sections were shortened. The second leg features with a new format, with a pair of stages run twice in the morning and another pair run twice in the afternoon. This differs from the traditional format where all stages are run once before the second pass in the afternoon.
Itinerary All dates and times are CEST (UTC+2). Date Time No. Stage name Distance 22 August 09:00 — St. Wendeler Land [Shakedown] 5.20 km Leg 1 — 106.62 km 22 August 19:08 SS1 St. Wendeler Land 5.20 km 23 August 10:14 SS2 Stein und Wein 1 19.44 km 11:08 SS3 Mittelmosel 1 22.00 km 12:43 SS4 Wadern — Weiskirchen 1 9.27 km 15:42 SS5 Stein und Wein 2 19.44 km 16:36 SS6 Mittelmosel 2 22.00 km 18:11 SS7 Wadern — Weiskirchen 2 9.27 km Leg 2 — 157.92 km 24 August 8:09 SS8 Freisen 1 14.78 km 9:12 SS9 Römerstraße 1 12.28 km 11:09 SS10 Freisen 2 14.78 km 12:12 SS11 Römerstraße 2 12.28 km 15:08 SS12 Arena Panzerplatte 1 10.73 km 15:46 SS13 Panzerplatte 1 41.17 km 18:53 SS14 Arena Panzerplatte 2 10.73 km 19:31 SS15 Panzerplatte 2 41.17 km Leg 3 — 79.50 km 25 August 7:46 SS16 Grafschaft 1 28.06 km 9:41 SS17 Dhrontal 1 11.69 km 10:10 SS18 Grafschaft 2 28.06 km 13:18 SS19 Dhrontal 2 [Power Stage] 11.69 km Source:
Report World Rally Cars The M-Sport Ford WRT crew of Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin were expected to return, having been forced to miss Rally Finland when Evans was injured in a pre-event testing crash. However, Evans' recovery time was subsequently extended, forcing him to miss Rallye Deutschland as well.
Ott Tänak held a narrow lead ahead of title rival Thierry Neuville going to the second leg. Teemu Suninen retired from Friday with mechanical problems. In Saturday afternoon, Tänak's two title rivals Neuville and Sébastien Ogier both suffered a puncture, which gave Toyota a dramatic 1-2-3. Eventually, three Toyotas came back safely to complete the first 1-2-3 finish in WRC since 2015 Rallye Deutschland.
Classification Position Driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Event Stage 1 1 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 3:15:29.8 0.0 25 0 2 2 5 Kris Meeke Sebastian Marshall Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 3:15:50.6 +20.8 18 2 3 3 10 Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 3:16:05.8 +36.0 15 3 4 4 11 Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3:16:28.3 +58.5 12 5 5 5 6 Dani Sordo Carlos del Barrio Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3:16:46.4 +1:16.6 10 0 6 6 89 Andreas Mikkelsen Anders Jæger-Amland Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3:17:16.0 +1:46.2 8 0 7 7 1 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Citroën Total WRT Citroën C3 WRC 3:17:26.1 +1:56.3 6 1 8 8 4 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Citroën Total WRT Citroën C3 WRC 3:17:32.0 +2:02.2 4 0 9 9 33 Gus Greensmith Elliott Edmondson M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 3:21:52.0 +6:22.2 2 0 10 10 17 Takamoto Katsuta Daniel Barritt Tommi Mäkinen Racing Toyota Yaris WRC 3:23:49.0 +8:19.2 1 0 29 11 3 Teemu Suninen Marko Salminen M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 3:57:24.0 +41:54.2 0 4
Special stages Date No. Stage name Distance Winners Car Time Class leaders 22 August — St. Wendeler Land [Shakedown] 5.20 km Ogier / Ingrassia Citroën C3 WRC 2:39.7 SS1 St. Wendeler Land 5.20 km Tänak / Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 2:39.4 Tänak / Järveoja 23 August SS2 Stein und Wein 1 19.44 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 10:40.4 Neuville / Gilsoul SS3 Mittelmosel 1 22.00 km Tänak / Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 12:26.4 Tänak / Järveoja SS4 Wadern — Weiskirchen 1 9.27 km Tänak / Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 5:03.6 SS5 Stein und Wein 2 19.44 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 10:46.0 SS6 Mittelmosel 2 22.00 km Tänak / Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 12:28.0 SS7 Wadern — Weiskirchen 2 9.27 km Tänak / Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 5:05.3 24 August SS8 Freisen 1 14.78 km Sordo / del Barrio Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 8:28.0 SS9 Römerstraße 1 12.28 km Tänak / Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 5:57.4 SS10 Freisen 2 14.78 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 8:31.7 SS11 Römerstraße 2 12.28 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 5:59.9 SS12 Arena Panzerplatte 1 10.73 km Tänak / Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 6:05.8 SS13 Panzerplatte 1 41.17 km Tänak / Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 23:27.2 SS14 Arena Panzerplatte 2 10.73 km Latvala / Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 6:04.3 SS15 Panzerplatte 2 41.17 km Meeke / Marshall Toyota Yaris WRC 23:17.6 25 August SS16 Grafschaft 1 28.06 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 16:16.2 SS17 Dhrontal 1 11.69 km Latvala / Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 7:35.1 SS18 Grafschaft 2 28.06 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 16:08.8 SS19 Dhrontal 2 [Power Stage] 11.69 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 7:30.2
Championship standings Drivers' championships Co-drivers' championships Manufacturers' championshipsMoveDriverPointsMoveCo-driverPointsMoveManufacturerPoints 1 Ott Tänak 205 Martin Järveoja 205 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 289 2 1 Thierry Neuville 172 1 Nicolas Gilsoul 172 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 281 3 1 Sébastien Ogier 165 1 Julien Ingrassia 165 Citroën Total WRT 216 4 3 Kris Meeke 80 2 Sebastian Marshall 80 M-Sport Ford WRT 168 5 Andreas Mikkelsen 79 Anders Jæger-Amland 79
World Rally Championship-2 Pro Kalle Rovanperä led the category with a 20-second margin going into Saturday, but the young Finn had a nightmare morning on Saturday, when he slid into the ditch twice. Kalle's mistakes handed his lead to his teammate Jan Kopecký. Eventually, he won his first Pro victory.
Classification Position Driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Class Event 11 1 23 Jan Kopecký Pavel Dresler Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 3:27:24.1 0.0 25 0 15 2 24 Eric Camilli Benjamin Veillas M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 3:28:43.2 +1:19.1 18 0 16 3 21 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 3:30:18.1 +2:54.0 15 0 17 4 22 Mads Østberg Torstein Eriksen Citroën Total Citroën C3 R5 3:31:00.6 +3:36.5 12 0
Special stages Results in bold denote first in the RC2 class, the class which both the WRC-2 Pro and WRC-2 championships run to.