Freddy Loix has moved ahead of fellow Belgian driver Thierry Neuville by recording the second fastest time through the 17.43-kilometre Apricale stage of Rallye Sanremo, round nine of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.
Loix is now 4.1s adrift of Andreas Mikkelsen, who continues to lead overall at the wheel of his ŠKODA UK Motorsport after claiming his third stage victory on the all-asphalt round.
IRC title leader Jan Kopecký was fifth quickest and is now 15.5s behind Mikkelsen in his works Fabia S2000.
Having overcome engine sensor problems on stage three, Pierre Campana has overtaken PROTON Motorsports’ Giandomenico Basso to move into eighth position.
Overall positions after SS5
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikkelsen Andreas / Floene Ola | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 41m22.5s |
| 2 | Loix Freddy / Miclotte F. | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +4.1s |
| 3 | Neuville T. / Gilsoul Nicolas | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +5.4s |
| 4 | Bouffier Bryan / Panseri Xavier | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +9.6s |
| 5 | Kopecký Jan / Starý Petr | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +15.5s |
| 6 | Scandola Umberto / D’Amore Guido | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +17.7s |
| 7 | Magalhães Bruno / Grave Paulo | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +18.9s |
| 8 | Campana Pierre / De Castelli Sabrina | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +47.3s |
| 9 | Basso Giandomenico / Dotta Mitia | Proton Satria Neo S2000 | +58.8s |
| 10 | Gardemeister Toni / Suominen Tapio | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +1m12.1s |
| 11 | Kruuda Karl / Järveoja Martin | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +1m28.9s |
| 12 | Perico Alessandro / Carrara Fabrizio | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +1m50.4s |
| 13 | Hotz Grégoire / Ravasi Pietro | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +2m10.0s |
| 14 | Medici Davide / De Luis Daniele | Renault Clio S1600 | +2m28.5s |
| 15 | Albertini Stefano / Scattolin Simone | Renault Clio R3 | +2m30.8s |