Tanak leads Toyota podium sweep in Germany

Ott Tanak is now more than a round ahead in the World Rally Championship after heading a Toyota sweep of the podium at Rallye Deutschland.

Tanak led at the end of all but Special Stage 2 and ultimately came home 20.8s clear of Kris Meeke after the 19 stages.

The Estonian missed out on Power Stage points when he took a conservative approach to the final test due to braking problems in his Yaris, but is now 33 points clear of Thierry Neuville with four rounds remaining.

Neuville had been the hunt for outright victory well into the Saturday until his Hyundai picked up a puncture and he dropped to seventh.

The Belgian managed to recover two positions by the end of the event but his main act of damage limitation was to win the Power Stage.

Sebastien Ogier’s title defence took a hit when he could only take eighth in Germany, and one Power Stage point.

The Citroen man, who also incurred a puncture and suffered a general lack of pace, is now 40 points behind Tanak.

Jari-Matti Latvala completed the podium.

Round 11 is Rally Turkey on September 12-15.