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Nasser and Tanak looking to cash in on rivals' absences in Germany
Ott Tanak and Nasser Al Attiyah could benefit most from the absence of the top four drivers in WRC 2 over the weekend.
Both hold title ambitions and go into the season’s first pure asphalt round bidding to climb up the standings.
Leader Lorenzo Bertelli starts but can’t score points as the rally is not one of his nominated scoring rounds. Second-placed Yuriy Protasov drives a World Rally Car for the first time and is ineligible, while Karl Kruuda and Jari Ketomaa are not entered.
Tanak lies fifth after recovering from a poor start to the year in his Ford Fiesta R5 and the Estonian can move into the series lead with victory in Germany.
“I like Tarmac and also the stages in Germany. We have had some good times here before but the roads are very difficult. You can have different weather on every stage in a loop so it’s always a compromise and the cuts can make things tricky for the second pass,” he said.
Al Attiyah lies 10 points behind Tanak in sixth, but the Qatari driver has tackled just three of his allocated seven events. He has two wins and a retirement to his name in his Fiesta RRC.
Also likely to feature strongly are Sebastien Chardonnet, who is aiming to bounce back from two consecutive retirements in his Citroen DS3 R3, and Portugal’s Bernardo Sousa, who drives a Fiesta RRC.
Reigning J-WRC champion Pontus Tidemand starts just his second WRC 2 event while Frenchman Julien Maurin, who leads his country’s asphalt championship, could be a good outside bet for victory in his Fiesta R5.
Germany’s Armin Kremer, Northern Ireland’s Marty McCormack and UAE’s Rashid Al Ketbi complete the entries.
