After SS11: Bouffier closes on fifth place

Bryan Bouffier continues his pursuit of fifth place on round three of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge after beating the time of his rival Pierre Campana through stage 11 of Tour de Corse-E.Leclerc.

Bouffier, in a Peugeot France 207 Super 2000, now trails Campana by 7.4s: “For the championship it’s important to get ahead of him,” said Bouffier.

Andreas Mikkelsen maintains third overall in his Škoda UK Fabia after his mechanics replaced his car’s gearbox, steering, front driveshafts and prop shafts during midday service following a torque link bolt failure on stage 10. However, Freddy Loix has now closed to within two seconds of the Norwegian in his BFO Fabia.

Out front, Thierry Neuville continues to lead after going fastest of all through the stage in his Team Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg although he reported nearly going off the road in his 207.

“I had a good rhythm but I took a big stone in a big cut and nearly went off,” said Neuville, who now leads by 16.2s. “I also lost the brakes for the last five kilometres.”

Standings after SS11: