WRC 2015: Volkswagen sweeps Germany with 1-2-3 finish

Volkswagen WRC sweeps the ADAC Rallye Deutschland with Sebastien Ogier leading the trio of Volkswagen Polo R WRC's with a 1-2-3 finish. With Ogier's win, the Frenchman is closer to securing his third consecutive WRC title.

Ogier kept a 23-second lead ahead of teammate Jari-Matti Latvala. Completing the VW sweep was Andreas Mikkelsen, finishing 1:33.60 seconds behind Latvala. Ogier's win gives Volkswagen its first win in its home race after two years of trying. For the three-day rally, it was teammates Ogier and Latvala locking out the first two podium spots for Volkswagen.

The race for third saw Mikkelsen and Hyundai's Daniel Sordo racing for the last spot on the podium. Sordo came close on numerous occasions but Mikkelsen was able to hold off the Spaniard to complete the Volkswagen sweep.

Last year's winner Theirry Neuville finished fifth after struggling with his Hyundai i20 WRC throughout the round. Neuville suffered understeer in Rally Germany which cost him precious time in the asphalt stages. Finishing sixth was Elfyn Evans with a breakout performance on asphalt. Evans was the only non-VW driver to win a stage with his Ford Fiesta WRC.

Citroen's Mads Otsberg finished seventh ahead of Evans' teammate, Ott Tanak, after the latter went off course during the second day of the rally. Hayden Paddon finished ninth for Hyundai Motorsport and WRC debutante Stephane Lefebvre rounds up the top ten.

Chris Meek and Robert Kubica were met with trouble throughout the rally. Meek ran off-road while chasing third, damaging his suspension which led to a ten-minute delay. Kubica on the other hand incurred a five-minute penalty before the start and lost another five minutes when he drove through a vineyard, smashing his windshield. He lost more time after smashing into a large rock on day 2.

In the driver standings, Sebastien Ogier extends a commanding lead over teammate Jari-Matti Latvala with 207 points. Latvala is in second with 114 points and Andreas Mikkelsen is in third with 98 points. In the manufacturer's cup, Volkswagen leads with Hyundai second and Citroen third.