Team Peugeot Belgium Luxembourg’s Thierry Neuville continues to mount the pressure on Rallye Sanremo leader Andreas Mikkelsen after he set an identical time to the ŠKODA UK Motorsport driver through stage three of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge qualifier, the 10.59-kilometre Bignone test.
It means the young stars are still separated by 1.4s heading to regroup and service in Sanremo.
Stage two winner Freddy Loix was fastest again in his BFO-ŠKODA Rally Team Fabia to climb ahead of Bryan Bouffier into third overall. The Belgian is now 1.9s adrift of overall leader Mikkelsen as a result.
Peugeot Sport Portugal’s Bruno Magalhães impressed with the fourth fastest time. His pace has demoted IRC title leader Jan Kopecký into seventh place.
Overall positions after SS3
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikkelsen Andreas / Floene Ola | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 20m41.0s |
| 2 | Neuville T. / Gilsoul Nicolas | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +1.4s |
| 3 | Loix Freddy / Miclotte F. | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +1.9s |
| 4 | Bouffier Bryan / Panseri Xavier | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +4.0s |
| 5 | Scandola Umberto / D’Amore Guido | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +7.0s |
| 6 | Magalhães Bruno / Grave Paulo | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +7.8s |
| 7 | Kopecký Jan / Starý Petr | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +9.2s |
| 8 | Basso Giandomenico / Dotta Mitia | Proton Satria Neo S2000 | +13.0s |
| 9 | Campana Pierre / De Castelli Sabrina | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +21.3s |
| 10 | Gardemeister Toni / Suominen Tapio | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +34.7s |
| 11 | Kruuda Karl / Järveoja Martin | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +39.3s |
| 12 | Hotz Grégoire / Ravasi Pietro | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +1m07.7s |
| 13 | Albertini Stefano / Scattolin Simone | Renault Clio R3 | +1m11.1s |
| 14 | Medici Davide / De Luis Daniele | Renault Clio S1600 | +1m17.4s |
| 15 | Vescovi Roberto / Guzzi Giancarla | Citroën DS3 R3T | +1m21.8s |