Ott Tänak emerged as the early leader of Rally Germany on Friday as the rain-soaked stages proved tricky for most, with mistakes and offs aplenty.
The M-Sport driver holds a 5.7 second lead over Citroën's Andreas Mikkelsen thanks to a penultimate stage victory and a strong showing in the final speed test where he placed third.
Heavy rain soaked the tracks which sneak through the Mosel vineyards, turning them into muddy rivers which proved too demanding for some as both Juho Hänninen and Craig Breen went off into the vines, as did leader Tänak, despite running Michelin's 'monsoon' tyres for the first time.
"At a hairpin I pulled the handbrake but couldn’t see out of the car and went straight into the vines. I was very lucky to get back, but I still enjoyed driving in such tricky conditions," said the Estonian.
In third and fourth sit championship leaders Thierry Neuville and Sébastien Ogier respectively. The pair had a tough time on Friday with the Belgian sliding off the road twice, damaging his Hyundai i20. He finished 22.5s adrift of Mikkelsen.
Ogier spun in the opener but held the upper hand over the recovering Belgian until the final test when he pirouetted again. He lost 20s, dropping behind Neuville by 2.4s.
Elfyn Evans was fifth in his Fiesta ahead of Hänninen, Breen and Jari-Matti Latvala, seventh. The Finn struggled with a misfiring Toyota Yaris, costing him more than a minute.
Hayden Paddon was ninth after a puncture with WRC 2 leader Jan Kopecký completing the leaderboard.
Dani Sordo escaped uninjured after a massive off as his i20 plunged down the bank, ending up 40 metres from the track amongst the trees, whilst Esapekka Lappi also retired thanks to a crash.
Kris Meeke's hopes came to an end after he damaged his car during Thursday's opening Superspecial stage.
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