Juho Hänninen has extended his lead of the Geko Ypres Rally after an off-road moment cost Freddy Loix vital time in his Peugeot 207 Super 2000 on the 28.82-kilometre Hollebeke stage.
Hänninen, in a ŠKODA Motorsport Fabia Super 2000, was 4.1s quicker than Loix and now leads the Intercontinental Rally Challenge round by 26.9s heading to the Lille-Eurométropole stage across Belgium’s border with France.
Loix, the seven-time Ypres winner, completed the stage with a build up of grass in the front of his 2C Competition entry.
Pieter Tsjoen was third quickest with Patrik Flodin back up to competitive speed following repairs to his PS Engineering M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000 at midday service in Ypres.
In the battle for eighth place, Antonín Tlusťák has moved ahead of Andreas Aigner with Mathias Viaene also demoting the Austrian Subaru Impreza driver, who continues to lead the IRC Production Cup by a margin of 47.0s over Bob Colsoul.
Mathieu Arzeno’s bid for IRC 2WD Cup success has suffered a setback after the French driver went off the road into a ditch early in the stage. It means Estonian youngster Martin Kangur holds a comfortable advantage in his Honda Civic Type R. Christian Riedemann reported a loss of brakes, while a puncture delayed Robert Consani’s Renault Mégane RS.
The Lille-Eurométropole stage goes live at 14:47hrs local time.