SS7: Hanninen back in front as lead changes again

Juho Hänninen is back in the lead of Barum Czech Rally Zlín as erstwhile pacesetter Andreas Mikkelsen lost ground through the first Tesák test.

The defending Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion said marker poles by the side of the road in one section had gone since the reconnaissance, making his pacenotes less effective. “They were not correct at all and I lose so much time in the last part because I had no cuts left in my tyres,” said Mikkelsen, who is 11.1s adrift of first place.

Jan Kopecký, who was fastest through the stage by 5.4s, reported a “very big moment” on a slippery section in his factory ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000. The Czech is now 2.4s behind team-mate Hänninen. “It was so slippery Tarmac that many times I was just a passenge,” said Hänninen. “It was not fun anymore and I was slowing down because it’s easy to go off. It was like driving on ice with slick tyres.”

Sepp Wiegand completed the stage with damage to the rear of his ŠKODA Auto Deutschland Fabia after he slid off the road backwards into a tree. “It was a really slippery place,” said Wiegand, who lost more than one minute in his delay. “I spin and the back goes into the forest. The spectators had to get me back on the road.”

Roman Kresta impressed by going 3.1s slower than fellow Czech Kopecký in his privateer Fabia. Meanwhile, the sump guard on Michał Sołowow’s Peugeot 207 Super 2000 worked loose during the stage. Elsewhere, Robert Barrable feared he would roll when he suffered a “massive spin” in sixth gear, hitting two trees in the process.

Following a 30-minute service halt in Otrokovice, stage eight, Lukov 2, gets underway at 18:07hrs local time.