Juho Hänninen will take a slender lead into the second day of Sata Rallye Açores after demoting Portugal’s Bruno Magalhães with a faster time through the Grupo Marques superspecial.
Škoda Motorsport driver Hänninen, the current Intercontinental Rally Challenge leader, is 0.2s in front of Peugeot Sport Portugal’s Magalhães after Thursday’s first three stages with Andreas Mikkelsen third, equal on time with Magalhães, in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000.
Mikkelsen, from Norway, rounded out an impressive first day with the fastest time through the two-kilometre stage.
Overall standings after SS3:
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Hänninen Juho / Markkula Mikko | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 18m35.8s |
| 02 | Magalhaes Bruno / Magalhaes Carlos | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +0.2s |
| 03 | Mikkelsen Andreas / Floene Ola | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +0.2s |
| 04 | Kopecký Jan / Starý Petr | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +5.5s |
| 05 | Sousa Bernardo / Silva Nuno | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +11.3s |
| 06 | Meeke Kris / Nagle Paul | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +12.3s |
| 07 | Peres Pedro / Ferreira Tiago | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | +46.6s |
| 08 | Pascoal Vítor / Castro Mário | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +47.4s |
| 09 | Moura Ricardo / Eiró Sancho | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | +49.7s |
| 10 | Vale Pedro / Medeiros Rui | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII | +1m20.1s |
| 11 | Silva Sérgio / Leal Paulo | Subaru Impreza STI | +1m20.6s |
| 12 | Meireles Pedro / Henriques Jorge | Subaru Impreza STI | +1m22.3s |
| 13 | Torres Rui / Martins Marco | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | +1m44.5s |
| 14 | Maciel Paulo / Gouveia Filipe | Citroën Saxo VTS | +2m06.3s |
| 15 | Costa Carlos / Azevedo Tiago | Citroën C2 R2 | +2m14.2s |