Rallye Deutschland is seen as one of the most challenging events on the entire WRC calendar because of the variety of different asphalt stages it contains; from narrow roads through Mosel vineyards to fast country roads in Saarland as well as the broken tracks of the Baumholder military ranges.
Tarmac rallies are not seen as a natural home for Finnish drivers brought up on gravel, but Max does enjoy the different style of driving and has produced good performances on asphalt in the past. In 2015 he won his class on the Monte Carlo Rally, and he also finished on the DDFT podium in Germany 12 months ago.
He said: “I’ve come to Germany feeling confident after the brilliant result in Finland, but this is of course a very different rally. It’s a difficult event because the varied stages mean it is not so easy to get into a rhythm, and there are lots of places where you can get caught out. The 40-kilometre Panzerplatte stage is a particular challenge; you have to concentrate hard.
“Driving on Tarmac excites me though and I’ve been doing a lot of studying, watching videos from last year to see what we can improve this time. I’m feeling good and I want to try and push for the win again here.”
Based in Trier, Rallye Deutschland begins on Friday August 19 and concludes on Sunday August 21 after 18 stages and 306.8 competitive kilometres.