Let's have a big round of applause for WRC's latest winner - Hayden Paddon! The Kiwi took a tremendous victory, defeating Sébastien Ogiér in a straight fight, and entered himself into the battle for the 2016 World Championship. 39 points behind the Frenchman, he seems like the only real challenger; the way he has been driving, I dare to say that he can put the pressure on the reigning champion. And the way Ogiér was behaving in the service park suggests that the pressure is already starting to mount...
Andreas Mikkelsen joined Paddon and Ogiér on the podium, receiving a good challenge from Dani Sordo who showed that Hyundai's performance is genuine. The Norwegian doesn't seem quite capable of challenging his teammates for victories, but his consistent form has put him ahead of Latvala in the standings.
Mads Østberg finished fifth; his worst result this season. Losing only to Ogiér in consistency, Østberg is sitting 3rd in the championship standings, which is certainly more than Ford could hope for. The only Ford driver to record a stage win this weekend was Ott Tänak; a nice show of speed from the DMACK driver, although he had a forgettable rally otherwise.
Deserving a honorable mention is Marcos Ligato, a local driver in a privateer Citroën who took an impressive 7th place, losing the 6th to Thierry Neuville by less than 10 seconds.
FINAL RESULTS
1. Hayden Paddon Hyundai 3.40.52,9
2. Sebastien Ogier VW +14,3
3. Andreas Mikkelsen VW +1.05,2
4. Dani Sordo Hyundai +1.17,1
5. Mads Östberg Ford +4.56,7
6. Thierry Neuville Hyundai +9.29,5
7. Marcos Ligato Citroen +9.39,2
8. Eric Camilli Ford +10.16,0
9. Henning Solberg Ford +10.48,5
10. Nicolás Fuchs
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Sebastien Ogier VW 96
2. Hayden Paddon Hyundai 57
3. Mads Östberg Ford 52
4. Andreas Mikkelsen VW 48
5. Dani Sordo Hyundai 44
6. Jari-Matti Latvala VW 27
7. Ott Tänak Ford 24
8. Thierry Neuville Hyundai 23
9. Stephane Lefebvre Citroen 10
10. Henning Solberg Ford 8