Freddy Loix has been handed a huge helping hand in his efforts to win his second Intercontinental Rally Challenge event in as many starts after Luca Rossetti crashed on stage 12 of Rali Vinho Madeira.
The 39-year-old now heads Kris Meeke by 19.6s after Rossetti’s impressive bid in his Abarth Grande Punto was curtailed prematurely.
Meeke had been under intense pressure from Loix’s works Škoda Motorsport team-mate Jan Kopecký but a faster time than the Czech driver through stage 12 means he is now 1.9s ahead in second.
The stage was stopped after the accident of Luca Rossetti. Affected crews have been given a notional time.
Overall positions after SS12:
1 Freddy Loix 1h46m30.1s
2 Kris Meeke +19.6s
3 Jan Kopecký +21.5s
4 Juho Hänninen +53.0s
5 Miguel Nunes +1m51.4s
6 Vítor Sá +2m12.0s
7 Rui Pinto +5m24.6s
8 Filipe Freitas +5m36.4s