After SS6: Mikkelsen starts day two in style
Andreas Mikkelsen has made a strong start to day two of Rally San Marino by winning the opening 6.82-kilometre Monte Benedetto test in his ŠKODA UK Motorsport Fabia Super 2000.
Despite reporting having to sweep away some loose surface gravel by running first on the road, Mikkelsen has extended his lead over M-Sport Ford Fiesta RRC driver Giandomenico Basso to 9.2s.
Mikkelsen, who is using a replacement gearbox fitted as a precaution in service in San Marino this morning, said: “It was a good stage with no problems. The road was cleaning a bit but it was a clean run. We had soft tyres and I have some work to do on the car.”
Basso began day two 4.1s behind Mikkelsen but said a lacking of “feeling” resulted in him dropping a few precious seconds to the charging Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion. He was 5.1s slower than Mikkelsen. “It was not a good feeling, very slippery because of the rain from yesterday,” said Basso, who has selected a medium compound tyre.
Umberto Scandola was third quickest, 8.9s behind Mikkelsen for ŠKODA Italia. He said: “The engine is okay today but the stage was very slippery. We need to go very fast today.”
Germain Bonnefis continues to make up ground following his extensive time loss on stage one by setting the fourth quickest time in his Peugeot Sport 207 Super 2000. The young French driver was 11.1s down on Mikkelsen.
Sepp Wiegand was fifth fastest, 11.2s adrift of Mikkelsen in his ŠKODA Auto Deutschland Fabia. “I lost one or two seconds to Scandola but it’s better to finish fourth than not to finish,” said the 21-year-old.
Jarkko Nikara continues to lead the IRC Production Cup in fifth overall despite reporting the brakes on his near-standard-specification Subaru Impreza losing performance on the downhill sections. He was eighth quickest.
Fellow Finn Juha Salo, who blamed losing position to Nikara on the San Marino stage last night on his decision to adopt an extremely cautious strategy, was seventh fastest behind the Swiss Laurent Reuche.
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After SS7: Basso closes back up to Mikkelsen
Giandomenico Basso has slashed Andreas Mikkelsen’s overall lead on Rally San Marino to 1.3s with the fastest time through the first of three runs of the 15.85-kilometre Rofelle stage.
Driving an M-Sport Ford Fiesta RRC for the Italian A-Style Team, Basso took full advantage of his turbocharged engine on the tight and twisty test to edge Andreas Mikkelsen, in a normally aspirated ŠKODA UK Motorsport Fabia Super 2000, by 7.9s. It was Basso’s third stage victory on the gravel event, round seven of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.
IRC rookie Germain Bonnefis continues to impress in his Peugeot Sport 207, the young Frenchman recording the third quickest time, 13.1s slower than Basso.
Umberto Scandola was fourth quickest, 13.9s down on Basso. Although the ŠKODA Italia pilot is now 24.1s adrift of the overall lead, his margin ahead of Sepp Wiegand in fourth has increased to 30.5s after the young German could only manage the sixth quickest time in his Fabia.
Juha Salo was fifth quickest and, as a result, has moved back ahead of countryman Jarkko Nikara into fifth place in the overall classification. Nikara continues to dominate the IRC Production Cup in his Subaru Impreza R4 STI.
The action resumes with the 14.45-kilometre Sant’Agata Feltria stage from 11:51hrs local time, which will be followed by a 30-minute service halt in San Marino at 13:32hrs.
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After SS8: Bonnefis wins stage, Basso is joint leader with Mikkelsen
Intercontinental Rally Challenge newcomer Germain Bonnefis has emerged as a future star by claiming his maiden IRC stage victory on Rally San Marino.
Bonnefis, in a Peugeot Sport 207 Super 2000, set a time of 12m54.0s through the 14.45-kilometre Sant’Agata Feltria stage, 1.2s quicker than Giandomencio Basso who has moved level with Andreas Mikkelsen at the top of the leaderboard following Saturday’s third stage.
Although Bonnefis, a 25-year-old from France, conceded running eighth on the road had helped his cause due to the cleaner nature of the stage surface, he was nevertheless delighted with his performance.
“I did not realise it would be the scratch time but it’s more easy for us starting later,” said Bonnefis. “But it’s splendid because it’s the first time for me in the IRC and I have just five races in this car.”
Basso, a four-time winner in the IRC, was 1.3s quicker through the stage than Mikkelsen, who completed the last four kilometres of the run with no powersteering on his ŠKODA UK Motorsport Fabia Super 2000. “We lost five or six seconds but they are valuable seconds,” said Mikkelsen. “On the previous one we were cleaning more so we have lost even more time.”
Juha Salo shone with the fourth fastest time in his Fiesta S2000 with Umberto Scandola fifth quickest. The young Italian could have gone even faster had it not been for a costly spin 200 metres from the stage finish in his ŠKODA Italia Fabia. Meanwhile, Sepp Wiegand said he was planning to adjust the set-up of his ŠKODA Auto Deutschland Fabia after reporting handling issues in the stage.
Jarkka Nikara has dropped to seventh behind Swiss Peugeot driver Laurent Reuche after stalling his Subaru Impreza’s engine at a hairpin. Reuche lost time on the previous run with a puncture.
Crews are now heading back into San Marino from neighbouring Italy, where the gravel stages are taking place, for a 30-minute service.
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