Red Bull ŠKODA Team Hounded By Misfortune At The German Rally

›  Both crews were held back by flat tires and driving errors

›  Leading WC crew Hänninen/Markkula ultimately landed in fourth place

›  Gassner Jr./Wüstenhagen finished far below their potential in seventh place

›  Hänninen remains at the top of the overall SWRC standings

Trier, August 21, 2011 – Both crews of the Red Bull ŠKODA team were plagued by bad luck at this year’s German Rally. After a number of technical problems and driving errors, neither factory crew made it onto the winners’ podium this year.  Juho Hänninen and co-pilot Mikko Markkula ended up in thankless fourth place. They are still the SWRC’s leading crew. Hermann Gassner Jr. and Kathi Wüstenhagen came in seventh in their home race around Trier.

The race actually started out with a lot of promise. Hermann Gassner in particular repeatedly achieved first-rate times, showing his potential. Up until the first special stage Hänninen and Gassner were in first and third place overall. But pointless mistakes on the very first day threw both pilots far behind. Both cars had damaged wheel suspensions after individual driving errors, but thanks to the Super Rally system both crews were still able to continue in the competition. 

The second day didn’t go any better. The notorious “Panzerplatte” special stage got the better of both drivers. After two flat tires, Gassner finished the second day in eighth place. Hänninen took fourth. Unfortunately the third day didn’t do much to change these standings. Despite good times achieved in the special stages, neither of the crews managed to improve their position. After 340 kilometers of special stages, Ott Tänak won the German Rally.

Hänninen: “I’m still very disappointed, because we had different ambitions for Germany. I’m upset with myself mainly for my pointless error on the first day. That cost me the victory. The good thing is that despite all our problems we never gave up and kept on fighting for every position. Coming in fourth only managed to limit the damage, though. Now we have to look ahead and try to solidify our lead position in the last two races of this season in France and Spain.”

Gassner Jr.: “This rally was a letdown for me. We were incredibly unlucky, especially with two flat tires in a row pulling us down. But we wanted to reach the finish line anyway and get as much experience as possible. In the end we did manage to make some good times. Now we’ll be focusing fully on France.”

Team leader Raimund Baumschlager: “Unfortunately it didn’t go the way we had wanted or imagined. We just didn’t have good luck. But: Juho is still first in the overall standings. Our job now is to look forward and focus fully on France. Every point counts for Juho. I’m pleased with Hermann. He mostly managed to make good times. He showed his potential, but he just didn’t get lucky. France won’t be easy for any of us. We’ll do everything we can so that Juho stays on top before the finale in Spain.”