The Central European Rally, the 12th round of the World Rally Championship (WRC), kicked off today for what will be its final edition under the current three-year contract.
The day started with the shakedown, where Thierry Neuville set the fastest time of 2:15.5, ahead of Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans.
Unlike previous years where the ceremonial start has taken place in Prague, there was no official start ceremony, but fans were treated to two competitive stages held in the same area as the shakedown. Between the stages, spectators enjoyed a regroup and autograph session, offering them a closer look at the drivers and cars.
The rally officially began at 14:30 with the Golf und Therme stage, which was run twice.
In the first stage, current WRC champion Sébastien Ogier was quickest with a time of 6:24.5, followed by Adrien Fourmaux and Kalle Rovanperä, both 1.7 seconds behind. Elfyn Evans received a 0.5 second penalty after hitting a chicane.
There were two rollovers during the stage, Eamonn Kelly and Conor Mohan crashed at the final corner, while Tom Pellerey and Hervé Faucher rolled at the 6.3 km mark. Thankfully, both crews were reported to be unharmed. However, due to the latter incident, the stage was cancelled as Faucher was taken to hospital by air for precautionary checks at his own request.
The second stage went ahead without any major issues, wrapping up a dramatic opening day.
At the end of Day 1, the overall standings are:
- Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais – 12:48.4
- Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen – +1.6
- Adrien Fourmaux / Alex Coria – +3.9