After SS9: First stage win for Kopecký
Mikkelsen closes on Loix for 3rd overall
Jan Kopecký has claimed Škoda’s first fastest stage time on Tour de Corse-E.Leclerc with the quickest run through Saturday’s first stage.
Kopecký headed Corsican rising star Pierre Campana by 3.6s with French rally champion Bryan Bouffier third quickest in his Peugeot France 207 S2000.
Andreas Mikkelsen was fourth for Škoda UK Motorsport with Freddy Loix fifth in his BFO Fabia. The gap between the two drivers is now one-tenth of a second in Loix’s favour.
Thierry Neuville still leads the Intercontinental Rally Challenge event but his overall advantage has been trimmed from 23.4s to 14.5s after a troubled run through the test.
“We have two spares, the car was quite high, it was going left to right and was very difficult to drive, sometimes it felt almost impossible,” said the Team Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg ace. “I couldn’t find a good rhythm. The car was too soft.”
Standings after SS9: