SS8: Al-Attiyah charges to stage best

Nasser Al-Attiyah proved that he isn’t giving up on winning the Cyprus Rally just yet after a charging run through the mixed-surface Anadiou stage.

Driving an Autotek Motorsport M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000, the Qatari survived a trip through a field and a spin within sight of the flying finish to go 6.1s faster than Andreas Mikkelsen who continues to lead the Intercontinental Rally Challenge qualifier albeit by a reduced margin of 26.8s.

“Okay I was trying, taking some corners flat out and using all the line,” said Al-Attiyah, who won the Cyprus Rally in 2010.

Jan Kopecký, the IRC title leader, was third fastest through the stage. He said: “It was very tricky and very easy to make a puncture. I just tried to stay on the road.”

Patrik Sandell reported running wide on a few corners nearing the end of the stage in his ŠKODA Sweden entry as his worn tyres began to lose grip. He maintains fourth position overall after setting the fifth fastest time.

Freddy Loix spun five kilometres from the finish of the stage and stalled the engine of his BFO-ŠKODA Rally Team Fabia. He is 13.1s behind Sandell in the overall standings heading to midday service in Pafos.

Leading Cypriot driver Nicos Thomas said he adopted a cautious approach in his Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer, while IRC Production Cup rival Toshi Arai said his decision to fit worn gravel tyres to the front of his Subaru Impreza R4 STI meant he lacked confidence due to handling imbalance.

Karl Kruuda lost precious seconds overshooting a junction in his privateer Fabia, while ŠKODA Auto Deutschland’s Matthias Kahle said his Fabia S2000 lacked traction in the gravel sections of the stage.

Stage nine, Gialia 2, goes live at 14:29hrs local time.