Jan Kopecký has stopped Andreas Mikkelsen’s sequence of stage wins on Targa Florio-Rally Internazionale Di Sicilia by going fastest through the third and final pass of the Targa test.
Mikkelsen, in a ŠKODA UK Motorsport Fabia Super 2000, had won Friday’s opening four stages but lost out to factory ŠKODA driver Kopecký by 0.8s on the famous Targa run, which uses sections of the old road racing course.
It means Kopecký, Intercontinental Rally Challenge runner-up in 2009, 2010 and 2011, has narrowed Mikkelsen’s overall lead to 4.0s heading to the final stage of day one.
“Everything is okay, no problems,” said Kopecký, pictured left with Mikkelsen. “It’s the same stages and you are trying to find the limit in places where there is no limit so it’s quite crazy. We have closed the gap to Andreas but it’s still not enough but we try. The car is much better now.”
Giandomenico Basso was third fastest in his turbocharged M-Sport Ford Fiesta RRC with ŠKODA’s Umberto Scandola once again outpacing Italian championship rival Paolo Andreucci in a Peugeot Italia 207 S2000.
“We are improving bit by bit but always too slowly,” said Andreucci, the Targa Florio winner on six occasions.