Thierry Neuville effectively has one hand on the 2024 World Rally Championship title as he heads into this weekend’s penultimate round with a 29-point advantage.
The Hyundai driver has led the championship since winning the Monte Carlo season opener and a year of consistent results has kept him at the front despite only two victories.
He’s finished a rally outside of the top five just twice this season - Italy (P41) and Latvia (P8), but crucially has scored points in every round unlike his nearest rival and team-mate, 2019 world champion Ott Tanak.
But with only 60 points left available, Tanak requires something significant over the next two rounds to beat Neuville, who just needs to extend his advantage beyond 30 this weekend.
There are two more drivers who can still mathematically clinch the title, as Toyota's eight-time champion Sebastien Ogier is 41 points behind Neuville, while last year’s runner-up Elfyn Evans is 46 points off top.
So the title may be clinched at the Central European Rally. If so, that would make it two consecutive years in which it has decided the championship, as last year Kalle Rovanpera - who has only contested seven of 11 rounds in 2024 - claimed back-to-back crowns with second in the rally.
He finished 57.6s behind Neuville, so the 36-year-old has good form at the event which made its WRC debut last year.
It also made history becoming the first WRC round to host stages in three countries as the Central European Rally is spread across the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany.
While Neuville looks set to clinch his maiden drivers’ crown, the manufacturers’ championship is much tighter and should be decided at the season finale in Japan.
Hyundai leads defending champions Toyota by 17 points despite the Japanese outfit claiming three more victories this season.
But unlike Toyota, Hyundai has claimed top-five finishes at every round while not suffering a double retirement like its rival did in Finland.
Toyota will have an extra entry this weekend with its fourth car piloted by rising star Sami Pajari. The Finn took over the team’s third car in Chile last time out after Toyota opted to bench its full-time driver Takamoto Katsuta for that round. Katsuta has however rejoined the team this weekend at CER.
In third is M-Sport, who sit 220 points behind Toyota but the British squad has contested much of the season with only two points-scoring cars compared to three for its rivals.
M-Sport will have a third entry this weekend though, as gentleman driver Jourdan Serderidis will start his fourth rally of the season after Monte Carlo, Kenya and his home event of Greece.
When is the 2024 Central European Rally?
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Date: 17-20 October
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Start time: 1pm BST/2pm local time on Thursday 17 October 2024
The 2024 Central European Rally officially starts on Thursday 17 October at 1pm in the United Kingdom and 2pm local time in the Prague district of Hradcany in the Czech Republic.
Earlier on Thursday, however, is shakedown at 8:30am BST which gives teams and drivers the opportunity to test different car set-ups ahead of the rally.
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Date
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Leg
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Leg total
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Start time
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Thursday 17 October
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Shakedown
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1.30 miles
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8:30am BST/9:30am local time
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Thursday 17 October
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Ceremonial start
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N/A
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1pm BST/2pm local time
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Thursday 17 October
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Stage 1 - Stage 2
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8.90 miles
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2:05pm BST/3:05pm local time
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Friday 18 October
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Stage 3 - Stage 6
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41.69 miles
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7:02am BST/8:02am local time
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Friday 18 October
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Stage 7 - Stage 8
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27.1 miles
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3:14pm BST/4:14pm local time
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Saturday 19 October
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Stage 9 - Stage 11
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38.36 miles
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6:58am BST/7:58am local time
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Saturday 19 October
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Stage 12 - Stage 14
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38.36 miles
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1:28pm BST/2:28pm local time
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Sunday 20 October
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Stage 15 - Stage 17
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24.36 miles
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8:11am BST/9:11am local time
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Sunday 20 October
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Stage 18 (Power Stage)
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9.24 miles
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12:15pm BST/1:15pm local time
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How can I watch the WRC?
TNT Sports is the official WRC broadcast holder in the UK, meaning it has live televised every round of the championship so far and will continue to do so until the end of the year.
So, a subscription is needed to watch the WRC in the UK. TNT Sports is available from £20 per month, a price that includes all four sport channels, Eurosport 1 and 2, as well as its live-streaming platform Discovery+.
The WRC is also available via Rally.tv, which offers two deals to new customers: an annual subscription for £119.99 or a monthly pass at £12.99.
How can I watch the 2024 Central European Rally?
TNT Sports will commence its Central European Rally coverage on Thursday 17 October at 8:30am BST for shakedown. That is the first of four programmes from TNT that day, with it returning at 12:15pm BST for the ceremonial start ahead of the opening two stages.
The network will therefore broadcast every moment of the weekend, but TNT will be on-and-off with its coverage depending on the start time for each stage. So, the sessions are broadcast across the different TNT channels.
This weekend’s rally can also be watched via Rally.tv, which will be on and off with its coverage as well.
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Date
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Leg
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Channel
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Coverage from
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Thursday 17 October
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Shakedown
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TNT Sports Extra 1
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8:30am BST
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Thursday 17 October
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Ceremonial start
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TNT Sports Extra 1
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12:15pm BST
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Thursday 17 October
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Stage 1
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TNT Sports 3
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2pm BST
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Thursday 17 October
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Stage 2
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TNT Sports 3
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5:15pm BST
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Friday 18 October
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Stage 3
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TNT Sports 3
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7am BST
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Friday 18 October
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Stage 4 - Stage 5
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TNT Sports 3
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8:30am BST
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Friday 18 October
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Stage 6
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TNT Sports 3
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12pm BST
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Friday 18 October
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Stage 7 - Stage 8
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TNT Sports 1
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3pm BST
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Saturday 19 October
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Stage 9 - Stage 11
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TNT Sports 2
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6:45am BST
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Saturday 19 October
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Stage 12 - Stage 14
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TNT Sports Extra 1
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1:15pm BST
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Sunday 20 October
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Stage 15 - Stage 17
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TNT Sports 2
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8am BST
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Sunday 20 October
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Stage 18 (Power Stage)
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TNT Sports Extra 1
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12pm BST
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Date
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Leg
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Channel
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Coverage from
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Thursday 17 October
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Shakedown
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Rally.tv
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8:30am BST
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Thursday 17 October
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Ceremonial start - Stage 1
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Rally.tv
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12:15pm BST
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Thursday 17 October
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Stage 2
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Rally.tv
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5:15pm BST
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|
Friday 18 October
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Stage 3
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Rally.tv
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7am BST
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|
Friday 18 October
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Stage 4 - Stage 5
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Rally.tv
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8:30am BST
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|
Friday 18 October
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Stage 6
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Rally.tv
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12pm BST
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Friday 18 October
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Stage 7 - Stage 8
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Rally.tv
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3pm BST
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Saturday 19 October
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Stage 9 - Stage 11
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Rally.tv
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6:45am BST
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Saturday 19 October
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Stage 12 - Stage 14
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Rally.tv
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1:15pm BST
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Sunday 20 October
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Stage 15
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Rally.tv
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8am BST
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Sunday 20 October
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Stage 16 - Stage 17
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Rally.tv
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9:30am BST
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Sunday 20 October
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Stage 18 (Power Stage)
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Rally.tv
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12pm BST
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How can I watch the 2024 Central European Rally highlights?
TNT Sports will broadcast various 30-minute highlight programmes of the Central European Rally weekend, starting at 12:15am BST (TNT Sports 4) on Saturday 19 October. TNT Sports 1 will also broadcast an hour-long WRC Review programme at 8pm on Monday 21 October, which looks back on the weekend’s action.
Autosport will also have daily highlights of the action, as well as the official WRC platforms which upload clips throughout the weekend.
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Date
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Channel
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Time
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Saturday 19 October
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TNT Sports 4
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12:15am BST
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Saturday 19 October
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TNT Sports 4
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5:30am BST
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Saturday 19 October
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TNT Sports 2
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6:15am BST
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Sunday 20 October
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TNT Sports 1
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12am BST
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Sunday 20 October
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TNT Sports 4
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4am BST
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Sunday 20 October
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TNT Sports 4
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9pm BST
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Sunday 20 October
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TNT Sports 3
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11pm BST
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Monday 21 October
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TNT Sports 1
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5am BST
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Monday 21 October
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TNT Sports 1
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8pm BST
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What is the route for the 2024 Central European Rally?
The 2024 Central European Rally will have 18 special stages covering a total competitive distance of 187.97 miles. Drivers will first tackle the Czech Republic leg beginning with Prague, where the rally will start with a super special stage of 1.58 miles around the city’s outskirts.
A 7.32-mile run of Klatovy will finish Thursday’s action before the Czech town - which is approximately 81.34 miles from Prague - opens Friday as well. It is an early start on Friday, a day that features six stages of two identical loops as following Klatovy is Strasin (16.58 miles) and Sumavske Hostice (10.47 miles) and those three stages will be repeated in the afternoon.
The rally will leave the Czech Republic on Saturday for a day that also features six stages of two identical loops. It begins in south-eastern Germany for 12.46 miles of Granit und Wald, before crossing over to Austria for a ‘Beyond Borders’ stage which is 15.12 miles in length featuring a 248-metre difference between the highest and lowest elevation. Both loops will then finish with a 10.78-mile run near the north Austrian town of Scharding.
Germany then hosts the rest of the rally, as Sunday commences with 7.56 miles of Am Hochwald which holds stages 15 and 17. Stages 16 and 18, also known as the Power Stage, are held close to the German city of Passau as drivers will tackle 9.24 miles for both runs to finish the weekend.
How can Thierry Neuville clinch the 2024 WRC title at the Central European Rally?
The new-for-2024 WRC points system means it is less straightforward to work out what Neuville needs to do to clinch the championship.
That is because on several occasions, a driver has actually scored more points than a rival who finished in front.
Taking the second round in Sweden for example, Esapekka Lappi won the rally but only scored 19 points because he was seventh quickest on the Sunday.
Evans, meanwhile, finished runner-up in that rally but scored 24 points with third-placed Adrien Fourmaux claiming just one point less than Lappi.
So this year, the worth of each finishing position has not been as black and white as previous seasons.
But effectively, Neuville needs to outscore Tanak by two or more points to become world champion for the first time this weekend - something he has done for two of the past three rallies.
The WRC points system is broken down into three parts. A sliding scale of 18-15-13-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 is awarded at the end of Saturday for the top 10 crews, with 7-6-5-4-3- 2-1 then given the following day while the Power Stage offers bonus points of 5-4-3-2-1 to the five quickest cars.
However, a crew will only score points on Saturday if it finishes on Sunday and in cases where it does not, Saturday points will be awarded to the next best-placed pairing. This points system was introduced to improve entertainment on the final day as previously, drivers often contested stages at a reduced pace to preserve tyres for the Power Stage.
But the new system has decreased the importance of a victory and Ogier even claimed in August that it has devalued the championship.
Rally1 entry list for the 2024 Central European Rally
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Team
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Driver
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Co-driver
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Hyundai
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Ott Tanak
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Thierry Neuville
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Adrien Fourmaux
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Jourdan Serderidis
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Frederic Miclotte
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Toyota
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Sami Pajari
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Enni Malkonen
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Sebastien Ogier
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Takamoto Katsuta
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Elfyn Evans
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