SS13: Saliuk delayed in bid for top five

Oleksandr Saliuk’s bid for a top five finish on the Geko Ypres Rally looks to be over after the Dream Team Ukraine driver lost several minutes stuck in a ditch on stage 13, Kemmelberg 1.

Saliuk was in a solid fifth overall starting the 13.39-kilometre Kemmelberg test but has slipped outside of the top 10 as a result of his delay, which occurred on a left-hand bend approximately two kilometres from the finish of the run.

“We went off the road and couldn’t come back until the spectators came to help us,” said the M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000 driver. “There was little stones and it was very slippery but it was my mistake.”

Former Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Juho Hänninen was fastest through the stage in his ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000, despite reporting that his car’s engine was cutting out.

“The engine was cutting a little bit but now we go to service so it will be okay,” said Hänninen, who was a mere 0.1s quicker than the time achieved by Freddy Loix in a Peugeot 207 S2000.

Sweden’s Patrik Flodin impressed with the third fastest time for Petter Solberg Engineering with multiple Belgian champion Pieter Tsjoen fourth quickest.

Crews are now heading to Ypres for a 25-minute service halt. Hänninen’s advantage out front stands at 27.1s with five stages remaining. Stage 14, the 26.75-kilometre Heuvelland run, gets underway at 18:14hrs local time.