SS9: Mikkelsen back in front on Rally San Marino

Andreas Mikkelsen leads Rally San Marino by 0.3s as the battle for victory on round seven of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge continues to intensify.

Mikkelsen took 5m21.7s to complete the second running of the 6.82-kilometre Monte Benedetto test in his ŠKODA UK Motorsport Fabia Super 2000, compared to the 5m22.0s managed by Basso’s M-Sport Ford Fiesta RRC. While Mikkelsen could celebrate reclaiming the lead outright, Basso said the run had been “difficult”.

Umberto Scandola reported problems with the set-up of his ŠKODA Italia Fabia after changing dampers in service. However, Sepp Wiegand said he could “trust” his ŠKODA Auto Deutschland version after switching to hard compound tyres.

Laurent Reuche has gone off the road and taken a wheel off his Peugeot 207 Super 2000. The Swiss had been in sixth overall. Juha Salo reported slowing down in order to pass the stranded Peugeot. The Finn also said he had lost approximately 15s with a spin. Reuche’s exit elevates IRC Production Cup leader Jarkko Nikara back into the top six in his Subaru Impreza R4 STI.

Stage eight winner Germain Bonnefis went off the road five corners from the stage start and picked up a front-left puncture. “We lose a little time but it’s not important,” said Bonnefis, who also had damage to two other tyres at the stage finish. He was 34.2s slower than Mikkelsen as a result.