Ogier crashes out in Central Europe, Rovanpera leads

VIDEO SHOWS: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EARLY STAGES ON DAY 3 OF THE WRC CENTRAL EUROPEAN RALLY – SEBASTIEN OGIER CRASHES, ROVANPERA TAKES LEAD SHOWS: VARIOUS, GERMANY AND CZECH REPUBLIC (OCTOBER 18, 2025) (WRC PROMOTER GMBH – see restrictions before use) 1. SEBASTIEN OGIER #17 (TOYOTA GAZOO RACING)  2. ON-BOARD WITH OGIER AND CO-DRIVER VINCENT LANDAIS ON STAGE  3. ON-BOARD WITH OGIER AND LANDAIS (POV), OGIER CRASHES 4. ON-BOARD WITH OGIER WHO REACTS AFTER CRASH 5. OGIER'S CAR AFTER CRASH 6. DAMAGED WHEEL OF OGIER'S CAR 7. OGIER'S CAR 8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) SEBASTIEN OGIER SPEAKING AFTER HIS CRASH, SAYING:     "Unfortunately we had a puncture on the front left and unfortunately at the same time my sensor was not working so I didn't get the info about this puncture and I just realised it coming into this insignificant corner but the car will not turn at all and it just unfortunately went in the ditch and ended up in this tree just behind us." 9. VARIOUS KALLE ROVANPERA #69 (TOYOTA GAZOO RACING) ON ROAD (3 SHOTS) 10.VARIOUS ELFYN EVANS #33 (TOYOTA GAZOO RACING) ON ROAD (4 SHOTS) 11. VARIOUS OTT TANAK #8 (HYUNDAI SHELL MOBIS) ON ROAD  STORY: Sebastien Ogier crashed out during the Keply stage in the Central European Rally while Kalle Rovanpera surged ahead on Saturday (October 18) after a treacherous start to the weekend's longest leg. Rovanpera, who trailed Ogier by 0.6 seconds overnight, overtook the eight-time world champion on the opening "Made in FRG" test. Ogier's challenge ended abruptly when his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 understeered on a high-speed, leaf-covered section and struck a tree, suffering heavy front-left damage in a 10G impact. Both Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais escaped unhurt, but the crash mirrored an incident at the same event last year. The Finnish driver capitalized on Ogier's retirement, winning the 21.95km Keply test by 6.4 seconds ahead of Elfyn Evans and later securing a measured third-fastest time on the dry Klatovy stage. Rovanpera entered the tyre-fitting zone with a 39.2-second lead.  Evans moved up to second overall, provisionally taking the drivers' championship lead. Hyundai's Ott Tanak trails Evans by just 1.3 seconds in third after a consistent morning, while Takamoto Katsuta topped the Klatovy stage and climbed to fourth. (Production: Annette Faydenko/Suramya Kaushik)

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