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Sébastien Ogier inherits the lead from Sébastien Loeb

On the eight stages of Sunday's leg, front runner Loeb felt massive pressure by young talent Ogier. The two Frenchmen shared the fastest stage times with their identical Citroën DS3 WRCs, not giving anything away to one another, while Finn Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) was battling hard with Spaniard Daniel Sordo (MINI John Cooper Works WRC) for third place.

 
A puncture on the final stage of the day finally caught out favourite Loeb. The record world champion lost more than one minute in the notorious Arena Panzerplatte at Baumholder, and thus, Ogier suddenly inherited the lead: "At the moment, I am leading, but I am not yet going to celebrate." Sunday's leg with five more selective special stages will bring the eagerly awaited decision.
 
After German talents Hermann Gassner jr. (Skoda Fabia S2000) and Aaron Burkart (Ford Fiesta WRC) dropped well down the order due to technical problems, Christian Riedemann, supported by the ADAC Stiftung Sport (ADAC sport aid), was able to climb up into a noteworthy 15th position as the best-placed German driver.