SS10: Mikkelsen flies, Al-Attiyah still leads

Nasser Al-Attiyah will take a lead of 49.0s into the final three stages of the Cyprus Rally after reigning Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Andreas Mikkelsen took more time out of him by winning Sunday’s third stage.

ŠKODA UK Motorsport driver Mikkelsen was 1m30.2s adrift at the overnight halt in Pafos but claimed his third stage best of the morning by going 8.8s quicker than Al-Attiyah on the 15.91-kilometre all-asphalt Stavros stage.

Al-Attiyah must win the event in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta RRC to maintain his push for the Middle East championship, while Mikkelsen will seal his second IRC crown in style and his fifth event win in the series if he can get ahead of Al-Attiyah.

Crews are now making their way back to the 30-minute service halt in Pafos. Stage 11, the repeat of the 19.43-kilometre Prodromi test, which features 36 per cent asphalt and 64 per cent gravel, gets underway at 14:02hrs local time.