Jan Kopecký believes he has no chance of catching Freddy Loix on the Geko Ypres Rally. The Czech driver trails his new Škoda Motorsport team-mate by 30.9s with 10 stages remaining.
He said: “There is a very long way to go but the knowledge Freddy has of the roads will be too much and we won’t be able to catch him.”
Loix added: “Ypres is Ypres and you never know what can happen. I have a good lead but it’s easy to make mistakes.”
Kopecký can close the gap to IRC leader Juho Hänninen to three points if he finishes in second place. Hänninen crashed into a ditch on Friday’s fourth stage.