IRC 2WD Cup champion Hunt out in Azores

Reigning IRC 2WD champion Harry Hunt is out of the Sata Rallye Açores, having beached his Citroen DS3 R3 on an earth bank seven kilometres into stage 13, Graminhais.

Although the car was undamaged, the Englishman and his co-driver Robbie Durant were not able to recover the road in time to stay in the rally.

Hunt had set some class-leading times after being deprived of the chance to win the IRC 2WD classification by a six-minute excursion into a ditch on the opening day.

His team manager Iwan Evans commented: “It’s a real shame as Harry definitely had the pace to win here. But it’s so easy to get caught out by a lack of experience, especially on a rally that is as tricky as this one.”

Local man Paulo Maciel continues to lead the 2WD classification in the Azores with series leader Jean-Michel Raoux second, 1m31.8s behind the Portuguese.