SS13: Kopecký into the lead

Andreas Mikkelsen´s bid to take his first ever IRC Series victory ended with disappointment when he crashed out on the penultimate stage of the Canon Mecsek Rallye, handing the lead to ŠKODA team-mate Jan Kopecký.

6.2km into the stage Mikkelsen briefly lost control of the ŠKODA UK Fabia S2000 on a patch of gravel and skidded off the road, hitting a tree with the rear-right side of the car. The tree was knocked into the road, and the car was too badly damaged to continue. Mikkelsen and co-driver Ola Fløene escaped injury and were able to take the Fabia as far as the next junction, where they parked it safely.

The stage was closed for 15 minutes while the tree was cleared but Kopecký, running second behind Mikkelsen on the road, had to cope with the obstruction.

"It’s big shame," said Kopecký, "because it was great battle, but the main is that boys are okay."

After the stage was restarted Peugeot’s Thierry Neuville eclipsed Kopecký’s time of 11m06.4s by 0.2s, taking the stage win. Neuville has 8.1s to make up over the last 17km stage if he wants to win, but the margin may be insurmountable.

Freddy Loix was next through, posting a cautious 11m18.1s: "It’s a pity for Andreas because he drove a fantastic race, he was quickest of all, and he deserved to win."

Elsewhere in the top 10, Hermann Gassner Jnr completed the stage in 11m12.8s to move ahead of György Aschenbrenner.