ERC – Alexey Lukyanuk wins in the Azores

Forced to abandon while leading the event last year, Alexey Lukyanuk (Ford Fiesta R5) this time went all the way in the Azores to claim the opening round of the 2018 European Rally Championship.

The Russian was able to overcome pitfalls (like an encounter with a herd of cows yesterday) to win this Saturday with a 16″ lead over Ricardo Moura (Skoda Fabia R4). The latter resisted until the end the attacks of his compatriot Bruno Magalhaes (Skoda Fabia R5), who failed a little over 5″ from second place.

Chris Ingram (Skoda Fabia R5) finished fourth and won in ERC U28 after a bitter duel against Martin Koci (Skoda Fabia R5). But the latter retired in the final special, after breaking a wheel, leaving Ingram to win in the category.

The top 5 overall is completed by Fredrik Ahlin (Skoda Fabia R5). Note that seven Skoda Fabia R5s finished in the top 10. Victims of technical problems earlier in the race, Laurent Pellier (Peugeot 208 T16 R5) and Pierre-Louis Loubet (Hyundai i20 R5) finished more than 40′ from the head of the race.

In U27, Diogo Gago (Peugeot 208 R2) won against Mārtiņš Sesks (Opel Adam R2).

Final classification Azores Rally

Discover the report of the Rally Azores, in AUTO n°2158hebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version and from next Wednesday on newsstands.