Freddy Loix leads in Ypres

If Kris Meeke (Peugeot 207 S2000) took the lead Rally from Ypres from the first special, it didn't take long for Freddy Loix to get into the rhythm behind the wheel of his Skoda Fabia S2000. The Belgian driver, best time in SS2 on Friday, took control of the race in SS3. He then “scratched” in SS4 and SS6, winning four of the first six stages of the race, compared to two for Kris Meeke.

Before the start of the second day, the two men are the main candidates for victory, being separated by less than six seconds. Other competitors were quickly eliminated: this is the case of Stéphane Sarrazin, who made a mistake in SS1, and Juho Hänninen, who slipped into a ditch in SS4. The only drivers able to challenge the domination of the Loix-Meeke duo, Jan Kopecky (Skoda Fabia S2000) and Thierry Neuville (Peugeot 207 S2000) are third and fourth, but already, respectively, at 22?? and 45??.

In two-wheel drive, it is the Dutchman Kevin Abbring (Renault Clio R3) which leads the way. Eighteenth in the general classification, he is ahead of Frenchman Pierre Campana, who is only fifteen seconds from first place in the R3 classification.

On the program for this long second day, thirteen special stages await the competitors remaining in the race.