Sata Rally Azores - Day 1

Mikkelsen and Hänninen set the pace

A rather modest turnout for the first round of the season, with mostly Portuguese drivers completing the field for the Sata Rally Azores. Only defending champion Andreas Mikkelsen, and strong contenders Juho Hänninen and Bryan Bouffier made the trip to the Azores, where drivers like Jan Kopecký, Freddy Loix and Tony Gardemeister chose not to take part in the first IRC meeting. Together with IRC expert Bruno Magalhaes the podium spots seems to be something for these four drivers. But it doesn't have to be like that.

The IRC proved for some close rallying in various Rallies last year, yet nobody from the mostly unknown drivers seems to keep up with 'the big four' after day 1.
Immediately after stage 1 it was clear that Mikkelsen and Hänninen were up for it, Mikkelsen taking the scratch, Hänninen 3.2 seconds behind on the 8.25km Coroa da Mata stage. The two were followed by Bryan Bouffier (+10.1 seconds), Bruno Magalhaes (+15.8) and Sepp Wiegand (+23.6).

Stage two saw Juho Hänninen taking his first scratch of the 2012 season, yet he missed out on the lead by 1.2 seconds. Problems were in Bruno Magalhaes' way, a problem with the handbrake forced him to back up a little after missing a corner, despite this he set the fourth time on stage 2, a mere 13 seconds behind Hänninen.
Standings after SS2: 1 Andreas Mikkelsen, 2 Juho Hänninen+1.2, 3 Bryan Bouffier+20.4, 4 Magalhaes+27.3, with Wiegand holding on to fifth, 47 seconds back.

Stage 3 was one for 2011 champion Mikkelsen, just. On the 2,2km long stage he managed to take two tenths of a second on Juho Hänninen. So the game will still be one when day 2 starts.
Standings after day 1:
1. Andreas Mikkelsen Skoda UK 13m53.7s
 2. Juho Hanninen       Skoda + 1.4s
 3. Bryan Bouffier       Peugeot + 23.0s
 4. Bruno Magalhaes  Peugeot + 29.9s
 5. Sepp Wiegand      Skoda Deutschland + 52.0s
 6. Ricardo Moura     Mitsubishi + 53.7s
 7. Hermann Gassner Red Bull Skoda + 56.1s
 8. Oleksandr Salyuk  Iurii Chemezov Ford + 1m17.5s
 9. Rashid Al Ketbi     Skydive Dubai Skoda + 1m37.2s
10. Oleksii Tamrazov Iurii Chemezov Ford + 1m42.9s

Day two starts at 10.20 GMT, or 11.20 in the center of Europe.



Martijn Kösters,
Rallycross_ERC

Prologue

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