SS2: Delecour takes third as Breen grows lead

Craig Breen has claimed his second stage victory of Rally Liepāja-Ventspils to grow his overall advantage on the FIA European Rally Championship round to 3.0s.

The Saintéloc Peugeot Rally Academy driver took 9m14.2s to complete the 16.8-kilometre Volkswagen stage in his Peugeot 207 Super 2000, which took place in the dark.

Afterwards, he suggested to ERC Rally Radio’s Chris Rawes that he’d suffered a big moment in the stage: “I can’t believe it – somebody’s looking after me today, I really do think that.”

Russian Mitsubishi Lancer driver Alexey Lukyanuk impressed with the second fastest time, 1.8s down on Breen, with Jari Ketomaa third quickest in his Autotek Motorsport Ford Fiesta RRC. “It was okay but I was struggling in some fast places to trust the car enough,” said Finn Ketomaa.

François Delecour said his decision to use a short ratio gearbox had affected his outright speed in his Peugeot but his fourth-fastest time nevertheless put him up to third place in the overall standings after Russian Vasily Gryazin – who competes under a Latvian licence – slipped back.

Siim Plangi reported a dislike of driving at night and was 20.8s slower than Breen in his Lancer R4. “It was real bad,” said the Estonian. “I was too scared and lost so much time on braking. The night doesn’t suit me.”

Jan Černý, the ERC 2WD champion from 2012, reported problems with the brakes on his ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000, which caused him to suffer an overshoot.