ERC – Jan Kopecky wins his third Canary Islands rally

Three out of four. As in 2010 and 2012, Jan Kopecky has just won the rally of the Canary Islands, counting for the European championship (ERC). Dominated during the first day by a very fast Robert Kubica on his Citroën DS3 RRC, the Czech knew how to raise the pace during the second stage and took advantage of a big mistake from the Pole to comfortably settle at the head of the stage. test.

Everything started in the best possible way on Saturday morning for the driver of the Skoda Fabia S2000, with a scratch time from the 9th special, the first of the day. But well ahead in the general classification by a very aggressive Robert Kubica, the Czech could only count on a failure from his main rival. This is exactly what was going to happen.

From the 10th stage, when Jan Kopecky had just finished wondering if his time would hold against the former pilot of F1, the Pole came out of a corner too hard and ended his race violently against a safety rail. Fortunately, the crew of the Citroën DS3 RRC was able to escape safely from the passenger compartment. Propelled to leader after Kubica's abandonment, Kopecky only had to ensure to keep at a safe distance Craig Breen and Peugeot 207 S2000 at a respectable distance and take another victory in the Canaries. While Luis Monzon on his Mini Cooper Works RRC was going to take the scratch on the 11th stage, the Czech concluded his rally in style by setting the best time in the last three specials. And a new success in the Canary Islands.

Behind the Czech driver finishes Craig Breen. Constant throughout the second stage, the driver of the 207 S2000, however, was unable to do anything to compete against the winner of the day. Taking advantage of the problems of Jérémi Ancian, then virtually third, forced to retire after two punctures, Luis Mozon completed the podium in his Mini Cooper Works RRC. Aigner Andreas and his Subaru Impreza R4 finished just off the podium but won in the Production category.