SS2: Hanninen survives trip into ditch to lead

Ypres Rally Juho Hänninen has survived a high-speed trip through a ditch to take the lead of the Geko Ypres Rally, round six of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Despite the moment, Hänninen was fastest on the 7.39-kilometre Westouter stage to move ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen in a similar ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000. “I was off the road for some time, in a ditch in fifth gear,” said the Finn.

Former leader Andreas Mikkeslen, who is carrying two spare tyres compared to the one being carried by Hänninen, was second quickest, 4.0s adrift, with Freddy Loix third in his Peugeot.

“It was not so bad but it’s not going quite so well and we can see the difference with the water and mud that’s being put on the road,” said Loix.

Robert Barrable lost ground when he had to reverse after overshooting a junction. Pieter Tsjoen and Patrik Flodin also reported suffering moments in a slippery section.

Jasper Van den Heuvel is being hampered by a clutch fault, but he was still able to go faster than IRC Production Cup rival Andreas Aigner’s Subaru Impreza. The Austrian said he was struggling for grip on his hard-compound tyres.

Jonas Langenakens, the Belgian Group N champion and the winner in the IRC Production Cup in Ypres last season, is nursing a broken exhaust on his Peugeot 207, which is causing a loss of power.