SS2: Mikkelsen snatches Corsica lead with rapid run

Andreas Mikkelsen has shot into the lead of Giru di Corsica-Tour de Corse with the fastest time through stage two of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge round.

The ŠKODA UK Motorsport driver was 1.0s faster than MINI John Cooper Works S2000 runner Dani Sordo through the stage and now heads former leader Giandomenico Basso by 0.1s in the overall classification.

Jan Kopecký impressed with the third fastest time for the factory ŠKODA squad with Basso fourth quickest in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta Regional Rally Car.

Bryan Bouffier was the leading French driver in fifth overall in his Peugeot 207 Super 2000 with Mathieu Arzeno sixth, Corsican Pierre Campana seventh and fellow islander Jean-Marc Manzagol eighth. Campana completed the stage with two badly worn front tyres.

Craig Breen, who starred on the opening stage, was more than one minute off the pace in his Peugeot following a delay.

Andreas Aigner, in a Subaru Impreza R4 STI, was the top IRC Production Cup runner in 12th overall with Emmanuel Guigou setting the pace in the IRC 2WD Cup in 15th position in his Renault Mégane RS.

The 16.89-kilometre Gare de Carbuccia-Tavera stage began on a wider and smoother road although there was a very narrow and bumpy section through a village that drivers had to negotiate with great caution. The stage finished with a fast downhill section.

Go to http://irc-results.com/2012/tour-de-corse-2012/ to view the latest results.