HERMAN GASSNER JNR / KATHI WUSTENHAGEN
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HENK VOSSEN / JOHAN FINDHAMMER
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Mitsubishi’s dominated the Group N category of the World Rally Championship for the 10th successive event, with Hermann Gassner (Germany) driving a Lancer Evolution collecting his first victory in Group N category on his home round of the WRC. Gassner’s father, also competing in the event, finished ahead of his son in the classification, however was disqualified at the post-event scrutineering.
This victory sees the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution bringing it’s tally of victories to 10 out of 10 for the series having taken first place in both Group N and PWRC on every event so far in the 2008 WRC season.
The story of Group N on the Trier-based round of the world championship, which ended outside the famous Porta Nigra (black gate) in the centre of the town this afternoon, was one of continued Mitsubishi success. The 19-year-old Gassner set the pace throughout the event.
Unfortunately for Gassner, the turbo pipe on his Lancer Evolution was damaged when he slid off the road in the Bosenberg test on Saturday morning, leaving him devoid of power for two stages. He dropped two minutes to his father, but remained at the sharp end of the Group N fight.
Contrary to the opinions of many of the other drivers on the event, Gassner thoroughly enjoyed the 30 kilometers of Panzerplatte, the WRC’s only stage run across the military ranges. This stage featured 82 junctions and the most abrasive asphalt surface of the season.
"I thought it was fantastic," said the winner. "It’s a real test for the Mitsubishi and the car was perfect through the stages. I think we should actually go and do more stages in Panzerplatte. I remember when I did whole rallies in the ranges, they’re a real challenge."
Behind Gassner at the top of the Group N table, there were yet more Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions packing out the top 10. An incredible eight of the top 10 places were filled with Mitsubishis.
Dutch driver Henk Vossen collected second in Group N after a trouble-free drive in his Lancer, with Milan Liska (Czech Republic) third.
Citroen driver Sebastien Loeb (France) maintained his dominance of Germany’s round of the WRC, winning the event for the seventh successive season. His team-mate Dani Sordo (Spain) was second, with Mikko Hirvonen (Finland) third for Ford.
The next round of the FIA World Rally Championship, which qualifies for the Production Car WRC, is Repco Rally New Zealand (August 28-31).
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| 1 |
Herman Gassner Jnr
Kathi Wustenhagen |
D
D |
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION IX |
N
1 |
3:56:41.3 |
**:**:**.* |
| 2 |
Henk Vossen
Johan Findhammer |
NL
NL |
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION IX |
N
2 |
4:02:11.3 |
5:30.0 |
| 3 |
Milan Liska
Jaroslav Jugas |
CZ
CZ |
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION IX |
N
3 |
4:03:02.2 |
6:20.9 |
| 4 |
Jean-Nicolas Hot
Xavier Panseri |
F
F |
SUBARU IMPREZA |
N
4 |
4:04:28.9 |
7:47.6 |
| 5 |
Martin Van Iersel
Sylvia Bos |
NL
NL |
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION IX |
N
5 |
4:11:50.4 |
15:09.1 |
| 6 |
Gert Van Den Heuvel
Bert Blomendaal |
NL
NL |
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION IX |
N
6 |
4:13:25.6 |
16:44.3 |
| 7 |
Vytautas Baranauskas
Gediminas Celiestius |
LTU
LTU |
FORD FIESTA ST 150 |
N
7 |
4:16:55.2 |
20:13.9 |
| 8 |
Klaus Bodilsem
Ole Frederiksen |
D
D |
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION VII |
N
8 |
4:17:01.3 |
20:20.0 |
| 9 |
Jan Van Der Marel
Ruud Strooper |
NL
NL |
RENAULT CLIO |
N
9 |
4:17:48.2 |
21:06.9 |
| 10 |
Emre Yurdakul
Can Erkal |
TUR
TUR |
FORD FIESTA ST 150 |
N
10 |
4:20:58.4 |
24:17.1 |
| 11 |
Thorsten Kuhlmann
Detlef Ruf |
D
D |
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION VII |
N
11 |
4:22:19.4 |
25:38.1 |
| 12 |
Joachim Muller-Wende
Umberto Calamida |
D
CH |
FORD FIESTA ST 150 |
N
12 |
4:22:43.2 |
26:01.9 |
| 13 |
Burcu Cetinkaya
Cicek Guney |
TUR
TUR |
FORD FIESTA ST 150 |
N
13 |
4:27:18.9 |
30:37.6 |
| 14 |
Han Hoendervangers
Geert Grooten |
NL
B |
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION VII |
N
14 |
4:29:39.5 |
32:58.2 |
| 15 |
Patrick Anglade
Bjorn Rohm |
D
D |
OPEL ASTRA GTC |
N
15 |
4:31:45.4 |
35:04.1 |
| 16 |
Richard Moore
Sebastian Marshall |
GB
GB |
FORD FIESTA ST 150 |
N
16 |
4:35:43.2 |
39:01.9 |
| 17 |
Andreas Werner
Jens Lembke |
D
D |
OPEL CORSA B 1.6I |
N
17 |
4:36:09.4 |
39:28.1 |
| 18 |
Philippe Maertens
Tony Lefebvre |
B
B |
FORD FIESTA ST 150 |
N
18 |
4:36:31.7 |
39:50.4 |
1
M |
Sebastien Loeb
Daniel Elena |
F
MC |
CITROEN C4 WRC |
A
1 |
3:26:19.7 |
**:**:**.* |
2
M |
Daniel Sordo
Marc Marti |
E
E |
CITROEN C4 WRC |
A
2 |
3:27:07.4 |
0:47.7 |
3
M |
Francois Duval
Patrick Pivato |
B
F |
FORD FOCUS RS WRC 07 |
A
3 |
3:27:39.7 |
1:20.0 |
4
M |
Mikko Hirvonen
Jarmo Lehtinen |
FIN
FIN |
FORD FOCUS RS WRC 07 |
A
4 |
3:27:49.8 |
1:30.1 |
5
M |
Petter Solberg
Philip Mills |
N
GB |
SUBARU IMPREZA WRC 2008 |
A
5 |
3:28:55.0 |
2:35.3 |
6
M |
Chris Atkinson
Stephane Prevot |
AUS
B |
SUBARU IMPREZA WRC 2008 |
A
6 |
3:31:05.6 |
4:45.9 |
7
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Henning Solberg
Cato Menkerud |
N
N |
FORD FOCUS RS WRC 07 |
A
7 |
3:31:55.9 |
5:36.2 |
8
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Urmo Aava
Kuldar Sikk |
EE
EE |
CITROEN C4 WRC |
A
8 |
3:31:57.5 |
5:37.8 |
9
M |
Jari-Matti Latvala
Miikka Anttila |
FIN
FIN |
FORD FOCUS RS WRC 07 |
A
9 |
3:32:36.9 |
6:17.2 |
10
M |
Toni Gardenmeister
Tomi Tuominen |
FIN
FIN |
SUZUKI SX4 |
A
10 |
3:33:36.5 |
7:16.8 |
11
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Andreas Mikkelsen
Ola Floene |
N
N |
FORD FOCUS RS WRC 07 |
A
11 |
3:34:50.5 |
8:30.8 |
12
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Matthew Wilson
Scott Martin |
GB
GB |
FORD FOCUS RS WRC 07 |
A
12 |
3:35:07.7 |
8:48.0 |
13
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Conrad Rautenbach
David Senior |
ZW
GB |
CITROEN C4 WRC |
A
13 |
3:35:44.4 |
9:24.7 |
14
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Khalid Al Qassimi
Michael Orr |
UAE
GB |
FORD FOCUS RS WRC 07 |
A
14 |
3:40:05.7 |
13:46.0 |
15
M |
Per-Gunnar Andersson
Jonas Andersson |
S
S |
SUZUKI SX4 |
A
15 |
3:40:37.9 |
14:18.2 |
16
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Gareth Jones
David Moynihan |
GB
IRL |
SUBARU IMPREZA WRC 2007 |
A
16 |
3:43:39.6 |
17:19.9 |
17
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Peter Van Merksteijn Jnr
Eddy Chevaillier |
NL
B |
FORD FOCUS RS WRC 06 |
A
17 |
3:43:54.5 |
17:34.8 |
18
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Dennis Kuipers
Kees Hagman |
NL
NL |
FORD FOCUS RS WRC 06 |
A
18 |
3:47:35.4 |
21:15.7 |
19
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Sebastien Ogier
Julien Ingrassia |
F
F |
CITROEN C2 |
A
19 |
3:47:36.0 |
21:16.3 |
20
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Harry Kleinjan
Anneemieke Hulzebos |
NL
NL |
SKODA FABIA WRC 05 |
A
20 |
3:47:48.9 |
21:29.2 |
| ../ |
27
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Herman Gassner Jnr
Kathi Wustenhagen |
D
D |
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION IX |
N
1 |
3:56:41.3 |
30:21.6 |
31
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Henk Vossen
Johan Findhammer |
NL
NL |
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION IX |
N
2 |
4:02:11.3 |
35:51.6 |
32
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Milan Liska
Jaroslav Jugas |
CZ
CZ |
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION IX |
N
3 |
4:03:02.2 |
36:42.5 |
37
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Martin Van Iersel
Sylvia Bos |
NL
NL |
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION IX |
N
5 |
4:11:50.4 |
45:30.7 |
39
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Gert Van Den Heuvel
Bert Blomendaal |
NL
NL |
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION IX |
N
6 |
4:13:25.6 |
47:05.9 |
42
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Klaus Bodilsem
Ole Frederiksen |
D
D |
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION VII |
N
8 |
4:17:01.3 |
50:41.6 |
46
|
Thorsten Kuhlmann
Detlef Ruf |
D
D |
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION VII |
N
11 |
4:22:19.4 |
55:59.7 |
51
|
Han Hoendervangers
Geert Grooten |
NL
B |
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION VII |
N
14 |
4:29:39.5 |
1:03:19.8 |
