Portugal
Sweden
France
Nicolas Ciamin headed Terry Folb in an all-French fight at the top of the FIA Junior WRC category at ADAC Rallye Deutschland on Friday night.
After battling rain-lashed roads in the Mosel vineyards and Saarland’s country lanes, Ciamin held a 22.8sec advantage in his Ford Fiesta R2.
Fresh from his debut Junior victory on the previous round in Finland, Ciamin made a confident start. He was second in the opening Saarbrücken street test on Thursday evening and won the first two stages this morning.
He swapped first place with championship leader Nil Solans for much of the day before the Spaniard retired with damaged suspension. That left the door open for Ciamin to move ahead after winning four stages.
“The feeling with the car was good but the changing weather made it tricky with the tyre choice. The afternoon stages were very slippery with grip changing all the time,” he said.
Folb also charged through the narrow vineyards and set three fastest times to keep the pressure on Ciamin. They clawed back time in the rain-soaked stages this afternoon to close the gap at the top.
Local star Julius Tannert holds third. He struggled to keep up with the leaders on his home event and, despite being slowed by another competitor’s accident, he has a comfortable grasp on the final step of the podium.
Head to WRC+ to see the latest onboard and video reports from ADAC Rallye Deutschland.
