Kopecky on a royal road

Jan Kopecky saw, in three stages, the situation settle down at Rally of Asturias. The Czech driver who, initially, was not supposed to be in Spain, finds himself at the top of the general classification, with only one loop of three special stages remaining. Third at the start of the day, Kopecky first got the better of Alberto Hevia, less energetic than during the first stage, before seeing Giandomenico Basso make a mistake. Author of a spin, the Italian lost seven minutes trying to put his Abarth back on the straight and narrow, being deprived of reverse gear.

The elimination race had already started on Friday. The three main drivers of Peugeot 207 S2000, Freddy Loix, Nicolas Vouilloz and especially Kris Meeke, had to change a wheel during the first stage, losing precious minutes. This Saturday, three drivers were fighting for victory. But, after the incident that Basso experienced, there are only two left to compete for final victory. With almost ten seconds ahead of Hevia, Kopecky seems best placed. But there are still three stages to go and the Czech will still have to be careful before he can shake his fist.

Ranking after ES12:
1 Kopecky (CZ) ? Skoda? 2hrs 11m 11.1s
2 Hevia (E) ? Skoda? +9.5s
3 Vouilloz (F)? Peugeot – +2m 6.5s
4 Meeke (UK) ? Peugeot – +2m 48.8s
5 4 Laws (B)? Peugeot – +2m 57.0s
6 Fontana (I)? Peugeot – +2m 57.8s
7 Solowow (PL) ? Peugeot – +5m 2.8s
8 Basso (I)? Abarth? +7m 2.8s