Bruno Magalhães has strengthened his grip on third place on Sata Rallye Açores by going quicker than Jan Kopecký through the seventh stage of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge qualifier.
Kopecký had closed to 1.2s of the Peugeot Sport Portugal driver after stage six but a faster time by Magalhães means the gap has widened to 2.9s. “We changed a few things on the car and I pushed a lot,” said Magalhães.
Out front, Juho Hänninen’s lead over Andreas Mikkelsen has been trimmed to 8.3s after the Finn lost precious time when he struck a large rock close to the stage start. The ŠKODA Motorsport driver completed the stage with damage to his front-left tyre.
Drivers are reporting that stones and small rocks being pulled onto the road are proving a major hazard.
Overall positions after SS7
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hänninen Juho / Markkula Mikko | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 42m07.6s |
| 2 | Mikkelsen Andreas / Floene Ola | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +8.3s |
| 3 | Magalhaes Bruno / Grave Paulo | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +27.3s |
| 4 | Kopecký Jan / Starý Petr | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +30.2s |
| 5 | Sandell Patrik / Parmander Staffan | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +1m29.3s |
| 6 | Bouffier Bryan / Panseri Xavier | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +1m36.1s |
| 7 | Moura Ricardo / Eiró Sancho | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | +1m52.2s |
| 8 | Lopes Vítor / Magalhăes Hugo | Subaru Impreza Sti | +2m44.8s |
| 9 | Pascoal Vítor / Ramalho Luis | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | +3m41.6s |
| 10 | Vale Pedro / Medeiros Rui | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | +3m56.8s |
| 11 | Silva Sérgio / Cordeiro Nelson | Subaru Impreza Sti | +3m59.3s |
| 12 | Nutahara Fumio / Ichino Hakaru | Subaru Impreza R4 | +4m14.3s |
| 13 | Lousado Rui / Assunçăo Luis | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | +4m56.5s |
| 14 | Maciel Paulo / Gouveira Filipe | Citroën Saxo VTS | +5m14.3s |
| 15 | Rodrigues Ruben / Rodrigues Estevăo | Citroën C2 R2 Max | +5m41.4s |