Estonian Ott Tänak claimed his second FIA World Rally Championship victory on Rally Germany, while woes for Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville allowed fellow M-Sport Ford driver Sébastien Ogier to increase his lead in the title race.
Tänak claimed the lead of the rally on Friday’s opening leg with a major push in wet conditions in his Ford Fiesta WRC. He then controlled the rally for the final two days, finishing 16.4sec clear of Citroën driver Andreas Mikkelsen.
“Everything was done on Friday with a perfect tyre choice and perfect run in tricky conditions,” said Tänak.
Title rivals Neuville and Ogier were involved in a major battle for third place until Neuville’s Hyundai i20 WRC suffered a suspension breakage. Ogier now leads Neuville by 17 points, with three rallies remaining.
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Ireland’s Craig Breen was fifth in his Citroën C3 WRC, with Elfyn Evans sixth in his Fiesta.
Northern Irishman Kris Meeke was forced out of the event after crashing his C3 WRC on Thursday evening’s short opening stage.
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IndyCar Series: Pocono Raceway
Will Power recovered from an early problem that put him a lap behind the field to take victory in the 500-mile race at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania last weekend.
The Penske driver lost ground after being forced due to a front wing problem, but he then used an alternate strategy to battle his way back to the front. He later held off teammate and points leader Josef Newgarden in the closing stages to secure victory on the 2.5-mile speedway.
Alexander Rossi, the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner, finished third. There was also a strong drive from Ryan Hunter-Reay, who was hospitalised after a heavy crash in qualifying. Having been cleared to race, he charged from 21st on the grid to eighth.
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