Hetzer
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Andreas Mikkelsen has taken an early lead on the Mecsek Rallye, having set the fastest time on both SS1 and 2 in his ŠKODA UK Motorsport Fabia S2000.
Despite an early start, it was already hot and sunny in the Mecsek Hills, with many thousands of spectators having camped out overnight to make sure of a good vantage point.
Co-driven by Ola Fløene and running sixth on the road, Andreas took a 5.1sec lead after SS1. He then extended his advantage to 8.6secs after setting fastest time on the first run over Orfũ, which, at 17.39 mile (28km), is the longest of the rally.
It’s been a superb performance by Andreas – not just because it’s his first rally in Hungary and he doesn’t know the roads, but also because some of the logs and tyres that were on the recce and designed to reduce the speed of the cars were not in SS1.
“It’s been a good start,” said Andreas. “The Orfũ stage is amazing – it’s very quick and the grip was changing all the time. We had a good run through there and everything is okay.”
After SS4: podium battle tightens
Another stage win for ŠKODA UK´s Andreas Mikkelsen, but Freddy Loix was second fastest through the 14km Alsómocsolád stage as he continued to fight Jan Kopecký for the final podium slot.
Mikkelsen made it three out of four stage wins with a 6m53.2s, while Loix crossed the line just 0.7s slower and Thierry Neuville subsequently matched Loix's time. Kopecký came through 0.1s adrift.
"We wanted to push here again and we did," said Mikkelsen. "The car is just perfect."
"I feel like it's the last day of Barum with Kopecký," said Loix. "We're playing again for tenths of a second. I enjoyed that stage. The final part was really quick."
"After the start the stage was quite nice, but then there are more chicanes," said Kopecký. "In the last two kilometers, there were people standing everywhere and we're running there in sixth gear at around 180kmh. It was quite dangerous."
"The car feels good," said Neuville, "but our tyres are quite badly worn and in the end we were sliding too much."
Frigyes Turán fought back after his disappointment in SS3 to post the fifth quickest time, while Guy Wilks finished 8.9s down on the leaders, slower than leading IRC Production Cup entrant György Aschenbrenner and Peugeot privateer Róbert Bútor.
"At the start it was quick and we were a bit too cautious," explained Wilks. "The car was moving around a lot towards the end so it's difficult to be fully committed."
Since just 10.5s separated the top 10 finishers, this was a stage that punished caution. Bryan Bouffier slipped down to eighth overall with a time 12.2s off Mikkelsen's benchmark.
"I was pushing and then I came around a corner and found some spectators crossing the road," he said. "They were crazy."
Overall positions after SS4
1 Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (ŠKODA Fabia S2000) 36m47.7s
2 Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (Peugeot 207 S2000) +14.4s
3 Freddy Loix/Frédéric Miclotte (ŠKODA Fabia S2000) +15.0s
4 Jan Kopecký/Petr Starý (ŠKODA Fabia S2000) +15.4s
5 Frigyes Turán/Gábor Zsiros (Ford Fiesta S2000) +26.8s
6 Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh (Peugeot 207 S2000) +27.7s
7 György Aschenbrenner/Pikó Zsuzsa (Mistubishi Lancer Evo IX) +44.3s
8 Bryan Bouffier/Xavier Panseri (Peugeot 207 S2000) +46.0s
9 Róbert Bútor/Igor Bacigál (Peugeot 207 S2000) +56.6s
10 Toni Gardemeister/Tapio Suominen (ŠKODA Fabia S2000) +1m01.0s
bron : IRC, SKODA UK MOTORSPORT