| 2006Rallye Deutschland 25. Rallye Deutschland | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Round 9 of 16 in the2006 World Rally Championship
| |||
 Rally winner Sébastien Loeb | |||
| Host country |  Germany | ||
| Rally base | Trier | ||
| Dates run | 11 – 13 August 2006 | ||
| Stages | 19 (349.11 km; 216.93 miles)[1] | ||
| Stage surface | Tarmac | ||
| Transport distance | 951.37 km (591.15 miles) | ||
| Overall distance | 1,300.48 km (808.08 miles) | ||
| Statistics | |||
| Crews registered | 73 | ||
| Crews | 73 at start, 56 at finish | ||
| Overall results | |||
| Overall winner |  Sebastien Loeb Daniel Elena Kronos Citroën World Rally Team3:28:34.1 | ||
| Support category results | |||
| J-WRC winner |  Kris MeekeGlenn PattersonPH Sport3:54:00.7 | ||
The2006OMVADACRallye Deutschland was amotor racing event forrally cars that was held over three days between 11 and 13 August 2006. It marked the 25th running of theRallye Deutschland, and was the ninth round of the2006 World Rally Championship season.[2] The event was also the sixth round of the 2006Junior WRC. The 2006 event was based in the city ofTrier inGermany and was contested over nineteenspecial stages, covering a total competitive distance of 349.11 km (216.93 miles).
Marcus Gronholm, along withBP Ford World Rally Team were the defending rally winners, trailing championship rivalSebastien Loeb in the championship by 29 points.OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team would not participate in the round as a manufacturer.
Loeb and co-driverDaniel Elena won the rally, their first rally win since the2006 Rally d'Italia Sardegna and their sixth win of the season.[3]
The following crews were set to enter the rally. The event was open to crews competing in the World Rally Championship and itssupport category, theJunior WRC, as well asprivateer entries that were not registered to score points in the manufacturer's championship. Twenty Four were entered underWorld Rally Car regulations, as were thirteen in the Junior WRC category.[4]
All dates and times areCEST (UTC+2).
| Date | No. | Time span | Stage name | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 August | — | After 8:00 | Bosen [Shakedown] | 3.35 km |
| 11 August |  | 8:30 | Service A,Trier | — |
| SS1 | After 9:23 | Ruwertal / Fell 1 | 24.40 km | |
| SS2 | After 10:06 | Dhrontal 1 | 11:14 km | |
| SS3 | After 10:51 | Grafschaft Veldenz 1 | 17.12 km | |
| SS4 | After 11:41 | Moselwein 1 | 16.97 km | |
| 11:58 | Service B,Trier | — | |
| SS5 | After 14:34 | Ruwertal / Fell 2 | 24.40 km | |
| SS6 | After 15:17 | Dhrontal 2 | 11:14 km | |
| SS7 | After 16:02 | Grafschaft Veldenz 2 | 17.12 km | |
| SS8 | After 16:52 | Moselwein 2 | 16.97 km | |
| 18:07 | Service C,Trier | — | |
| 12 August | | 7:55 | Service D,Trier | — |
| SS9 | After 8:36 | Bosenberg 1 | 22.52 km | |
| SS10 | After 9:44 | Panzerplatte 1 | 30.65 km | |
| 10:44 | Service E,Trier | — | |
| SS11 | After 12:17 | Erzweiler 1 | 18:21 km | |
| SS12 | After 12:55 | Panzerplatte 2 | 30.65 km | |
| 13:55 | Service F,Trier | — | |
| SS13 | After 15:28 | Erzweiler 2 | 18:21 km | |
| SS14 | After 16:31 | Bosenberg 2 | 22.52 km | |
| SS15 | After 17:19 | OMV SS St. Wendel | 5.84 km | |
| 17:59 | Service G,Trier | — | |
| 13 August | | 7:55 | Service H,Trier | — |
| SS16 | After 8:38 | Freisen / Westrich 1 | 19.60 km | |
| SS17 | After 9:23 | Birkenfelder Land | 13.68 km | |
| SS18 | After 10:11 | St. Wendeler Land | 16.37 km | |
| SS19 | After 10:44 | Freisen / Westrich 2 | 19.60 km | |
| Source:[5] | ||||
Thursday's shakedown would be a dramatic one, with Petter Solberg crashing out due to setup-related understeer. His mechanics were able to rebuild the car in time for the event.[6] His teammate Sarrazin would win the shakedown.[7]
Friday would see Loeb take an early lead and extend it throughout the morning, whle his biggest competitor was Sordo in second. Gronholm would have a mediocre start, going off the road multiple time sin the opening stage.[8] By the end of the day, Loeb would pull a gap of over forty seconds to the Spaniard.
It would be up to Sordo to close the gap on Saturday, which would see changing weather conditions. While he was able to bring the gap down to under thirty seconds, he was unable to truly compete for the win at the beginning of the weekend. Gardemeister would hold a comfortable third ahead of Gronholm, who was hindered by a poor tyre choice. Solberg would suffer from engine issues and retired from the second day. Privateer Jan Kopecky would take a surprise win in the ninth stage, while Pons went off the road and dropped to twelfth.[9] Gronholm would make a recovery to third by the end of the day, as Gardemeister struggled. The leading duo were ordered to hold position and cruise to a 1–2.[10][11]
Sunday would have very little change in the points paying positions, as Loeb and Sordo cruised home in their previous positions. Loeb had led the rally on every stage, and by winning the rally, equaled the record for the most World Rally wins at twenty six. Gronholm would finish third ahead of Gardemeister and Hirvonen. Skoda rookie Aigner would book an impressive sxth, along with privateer Kopecky in seventh.[12]
All dates and times areCEST (UTC+2).
| Day | Stage | Time | Name | Length (km) | Winner | Time | Rally leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (11 August) | SS1 | 9:23 | Ruwertal/Fell 1 | 20.04 | Sébastien Loeb | 11:44.6 | Sébastien Loeb |
| SS2 | 10:06 | Dhrontal 1 | 11.14 |  Daniel Sordo | 7:18.7 | ||
| SS3 | 10:51 | Grafschaft Veldenz 1 | 17.72 | Sébastien Loeb | 10:49.8 | ||
| SS4 | 11:41 | Moselwein 1 | 16.97 | Daniel Sordo | 10:23.3 | ||
| SS5 | 14:34 | Ruwerthal/Fell 2 | 20.04 | Sébastien Loeb | 11:34.3 | ||
| SS6 | 15:17 | Dhrontal 2 | 11.14 | Daniel Sordo | 7:18.2 | ||
| SS7 | 16:02 | Grafschaft Veldenz 2 | 23.76 |  Marcus Grönholm | 16:54.1 | ||
| SS8 | 16:52 | Moselwein 2 | 16.97 | Sébastien Loeb | 10:20.4 | ||
| 2 (12 August) | SS9 | 8:36 | Bosenberg 1 | 22.52 |  Jan Kopecký | 13:02.7 | |
| SS10 | 9:44 | Panzerplatte 1 | 30.65 | Daniel Sordo | 18:09.5 | ||
| SS11 | 12:17 | Erzweiler 1 | 18.21 | Mikko Hirvonen | 10:46.0 | ||
| SS12 | 12:55 | Panzerplatte 2 | 30.65 | Marcus Grönholm | 18:03.5 | ||
| SS13 | 15:28 | Erzweiler 2 | 18.21 | Marcus Grönholm | 10:42.4 | ||
| SS14 | 16:31 | Bosenberg 2 | 22.52 | Jan Kopecký | 12:45.0 | ||
| SS15 | 17:19 | OMV SS St Wendel | 5.84 | Sébastien Loeb | 3:05.0 | ||
| 3 (13 August) | SS16 | 8:38 | Freisen/Westrich 1 | 19.06 | Toni Gardemeister | 11:40.4 | |
| SS17 | 9:23 | Birkenfelder Land | 13.68 | Daniel Sordo | 7:52.3 | ||
| SS18 | 10:11 | St Wendeler Land | 16.37 | Toni Gardemeister | 9:08.6 | ||
| SS19 | 10:44 | Freisen/Westrich 2 | 19.06 | Toni Gardemeister | 11:50.8 |
| Pos. | Drivers' Championship | Manufacturers' Championship | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Driver | Points | Move | Manufacturer | Points | |||
| 1 |  | Sébastien Loeb | 84 | | Kronos Citroën World Rally Team | 114 | ||
| 2 | | Marcus Gronholm | 51 | | BP Ford World Rally Team | 91 | ||
| 3 | | Dani Sordo | 41 | |  Subaru World Rally Team | 63 | ||
| 4 |  1 |  Manfred Stohl | 24 | |  OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team | 41 | ||
| 5 |  1 | Mikko Hirvonen | 21 | 1 | Red Bull Škoda Team | 22 | ||
| Pos. | Drivers' Championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Driver | Points | ||
| 1 | |  Patrik Sandell | 26 | |
| 2 | | Jonas Andersson | 21 | |
| 3 | |  Urmo Aava | 20 | |
| 4 | |  Conrad Rautenbach | 17 | |
| 5 | 4 | Kris Meeke | 16 | |
