Defending IRC 2WD Cup champion Harry Hunt believes he can still win the category on Sata Rallye Açores after a spin on stage two dropped him back to second position in the class, six seconds behind local driver Paulo Maciel.
Hunt, who is co-driven by fellow Briton Robbie Durant in a Citroën DS3 R3, said: “I think we’ve got the pace to win this one: it’s a rally that we’ve targeted as being good for us right from the start of the year. We lost about 10 seconds with the spin on the second stage, so I think we could have been in front tonight. But it really doesn’t matter as there’s such a long way to go.”
The London driver will start day two with a slightly tweaked car following changes in service by his I Cars Motorsport technicians to provide better traction and a more precise turn-in.
“The stages are very slippery,” explained the 22-year-old. “You have to be so careful with the braking: in a few places it feels a bit like driving on ice.”
Maciel and Hunt hold 18th and 19th places overall respectively at the end of the opening day.
Frenchman Jean-Michel Raoux, who heads the IRC 2WD Cup standings after five rounds, is sixth overnight.