SS6: Kruuda impresses in Cyprus

Karl Kruuda has impressed on Saturday’s first stage, setting the second fastest time behind Cyprus Rally leader Andreas Mikkelsen.

The Estonian teenager, in a privateer ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000, was 2.8s slower than Mikkelsen whose overall lead on the Intercontinental Rally Challenge event has increased to 27.6s.

Asked by Rally Radio’s Colin Clark to explain his pace, Kruuda said: “I had pancakes and strawberry jam for breakfast and the stage was on a flat level so the power didn’t mean so much.”

Nasser Al-Attiyah holds second overall in his Autotek Motorsport M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000. However, his margin over IRC title leader Jan Kopecký is down to 6.8s after the Czech beat the Qatari through the stage, which ran entirely on gravel and measured 14.82 kilometres in length.

Kopecký had been 25.4s behind Al-Attiyah overnight but the gap was adjusted to 10.8s after event stewards considered video evidence of Kopecký being slowed running behind Thierry Neuville on stage four, when the Belgian’s Peugeot 207 developed an alternator fault.

In the battle for fourth, ŠKODA Sweden’s Patrik Sandell has moved ahead of BFO- ŠKODA driver Freddy Loix with the Belgian continuing to report problems adapting to driving on gravel stages.