This was the first actual tarmac event for team Volkswagen. It showed that pace we had but something was missing because there was no Polo on the podium. Rally Germany was (and is) one of the most difficult rallies in the series because of the huge amount of crossroads. It was hard to form a character for this rally and all in all the weather conditions were very variable. The grip changed a lot. Dani Sordo won, Thierry Neuville was second and Mikko Hirvonen third. I was seventh. I led the race a way over half the stages which was my first time in a tarmac rally. My driving was the best ever on tarmac. Competing and driving for a victory increased the risk factor which I noticed on the third day. On the longest stage of the rally, Arena Panzerplatte (41km), I hit a concrete bollard (‘Hinkelstein’ in German) while I was trying to push hard. That hit damaged the co driver’s side of the car. In the service they tried to fix it but the co driver’s door kept on opening on the next stage. Miikka Anttila had to hold the door with his right hand and read the notes at the same time. We both lost our concentration a bit and got surprised by a slippery corner (it was raining). We hit a pile of logs and damaged our right rear suspension. We had to retire on the next stage. The next day we continued in rally2 but we had ten minutes’ time penalty. The last two competitions ended in disappointments for me. But I won’t give up. Learning by these experiences will make me stronger.
