Juho Hänninen wins his duel in Ireland

Juho Hänninen started the second stage of the Rally of Ireland with a lead of six tenths over Andreas Mikkelsen, who had even regained the lead of the event at the end of the Redrock special (SS6). The two contenders for victory collected the scratches to return to the second assistance with a difference of 2??3 to the advantage of the Finn. The 2010 champion held on until his rival made a mistake on the first pass of Lisburn (SS12) by going off the road. “I am surprised by the pace we showed this weekend. I thank Andreas who gave me a superb race », declares the winner on arrival.

After his victory in the Azores Rally, Andreas Mikkelsen lost his duel in the Canary Islands against Jan Kopecky following a mechanical problem. The Norwegian once again narrowly missed celebrating his first victory on asphalt but took another second place which allowed the reigning champion to display good consistency. “Juho had a fantastic rally without making any mistakes. I did some for my part but we are having a good start to the season. »

Jan Kopecky was not able to follow the two leaders but the Czech still secured the last step of the podium after having completed a smooth rally. The Skoda driver offers a hat-trick to the Czech manufacturer by beating the Peugeot 207 S2000 by Mathieu Arzeno and the local Craig Breen, well back in fifth position after his 1:30 penalty inflicted for a delay in service due to a mechanical problem. “It?s a good weekend for me. I worked on the car and gained a lot of experience. I like Irish asphalt », comments the Frenchman. His compatriot Robert Consani retired in the Drumhillery special (SS10) following gearbox problems.

Discover the report from the Rally Ireland in the next issue of AUTOhebdo, available from Tuesday in digital version and from Wednesday on newsstands.