Cyprus - IRC news before SS5

Headache no problem for IRC Production Cup star Nikara

Not even a headache and a puncture has knocked Jarkko Nikara off his stride as he reached midday service in Pafos leading the IRC Production Cup section of the Cyprus Rally.

With four stages of the mixed surface event completed, Nikara holds an advantage of 1m42.7s over local hero Savvas Savva in his Tommi Mäkinen Racing Subaru Impreza R4 STI.

“I have a little headache, which is often a problem for me in the heat,” said the rising Finnish star. “We also had a rear-left puncture halfway through the last stage but we’ve had no other problems.”

Behind Savva in third place, Nikara’s team-mate Toshi Arai could have been leading had he not gone off the road on stage three and lost more than two minutes. “It was a right-hand corner and I went completely straight and off the road,” said Arai, who is 0.4s behind Savva.

Of the IRC Production Cup title contenders, Andreas Aigner retired on stage two with a loss of brakes. Marco Tempestini was forced to complete the morning loop in rear-wheel-drive-mode only following a differential failure five kilometres into stage two, while brake problems have caused Vitaliy Pushkar’s substantial time loss. The Ukrainian is more than seven minutes off top spot.

Fortune finally favours Hunt in IRC 2WD Cup battle

Harry Hunt says his decision to complete stage three of the Cyprus Rally with a punctured front-left tyre was the right one after he reached the midday regroup in Pafos leading the IRC 2WD Cup division.

Robert Consani had been 35.5s in front starting stage four but is reported to have stopped with a broken clutch on his Renault Clio R3. His misfortune means Hunt heads Menya Krózser by 1m04.7s prior to stage five.

Hunt admitted that stopping to change the deflated tyre, which occurred approximately halfway through the 12.43-kilometre Salamiou test when he struck a rock lying on the inside of a left kink, would have resulted in a delay of approximately two minutes.

“We were halfway through the stage when it happened and it was my co-driver David’s [Moynihan] call to drive on it for the rest of the stage,” said Briton Hunt. “It was the right call because we’d have lost a lot more than the minute we did lose. There’s a bit of damage to the bumper and the headlights but otherwise everything is fine.”

Despite Consani’s exit, Hunt still needs to finish to make up the 11-point deficit to the Frenchman for his second IRC 2WD Cup crown

Mikkelsen: catching Nasser will be a tall order

Andreas Mikkelsen has conceded that his hopes of winning the Cyprus Rally for a second time depend on Nasser Al-Attiyah encountering more problems.

Al-Attiyah, from Qatar, heads Mikkelsen on the Intercontinental Rally Challenge finale by 1m33.6s after Saturday’s opening loop of three stages, despite dropping time when he bent the front-left steering arm on his M-Sport Ford Fiesta RRC striking a rock after becoming distracted when the alternator warning light came on starting stage four.

Mikkelsen had been leading when he picked up a right-rear puncture and broke a damper on his ŠKODA UK Motorsport Fabia Super 2000 after 10 kilometres of Saturday’s opening test. But the Norwegian now has a sizeable deficit to make up in his efforts to take victory.

“We got a puncture and we destroyed the rear damper as well so for the second and third stages this morning over every bump I needed to slow down because I would break my back otherwise,” said Mikkelsen, the defending IRC champion. “It’s not been an easy morning and not the perfect start to the rally. Still we won some stages and we try to attack again this afternoon to get some time back. At the moment we’re 1m30s behind and for sure it’s too much without him hitting any problems but you never know with this rally.”

Meanwhile, Al-Attiyah’s team boss Ken Skidmore confirmed his car had been restored to full working order for the three repeated stages this afternoon.

Q&A: Andreas Aigner

Andreas Aigner started the Cyprus Rally in contention for the coveted IRC Production Cup title. But a brake issue on Saturday’s opening test forced the Stohl Racing Subaru Impreza driver’s early retirement. He spoke to www.ircseries.com.

What exactly happened?

“We lost the brakes already after two kilometres but it was still coming so I just brake a few times. Then after three kilometres it was gone completely. There was a leak somewhere, which was bad luck because it’s never happened before.”

Was it impossible to continue?

“We had no brakes at all so I decided to stop. There was more than 60 kilometres to go on special stages but also on the road section it would not be so clever to continue.”

Did you try to fix it?

“I tried to fix and fill up with brake fluid again but it was just for three brakes and it was gone again.”

How do you feel now?

“Very disappointed but this is motorsport, this is rally and this can happen. We will try to go again tomorrow and see what happens tomorrow evening. For sure it’s just bad luck, nobody on the team is to blame. If we had driven two more laps on the testing we would have had the problem already but you never know. It’s no problem to fix the car but we can only just go through the stages now. That’s it.”