Mikko Heikkilä leader at the end of the first day in Fafe

The championship ERC 2023 opened yesterday during a 1,43 km night special route through the streets of Fafe. A light rain had made the cobblestones very slippery for the cars racing in gravel configuration and with tires better suited to mud and sand. The first surprise of this meeting was signed by Ricardo Teodosio. The Portuguese was in fact the first leader ahead of Erik Cais and Mikolaj Marczyk.

The rest of the stage was more classic with a loop of 3 stages to be competed once in the morning and another in the afternoon. For safety reasons, the organizers decided to cancel the two passages in Vieira do Minho (SS5/9) meaning 23,52 km were cancelled.

With a list of starters including a good ten contenders for victory, the battle kept all its promises, with a clash between Mads Ostberg, Mikko Heikkilä, Craig Breen and Hayden Paddon. Several drivers such as Cais, Martin Sesks and Pontus Tidemand tried to follow, but they experienced setbacks which gradually caused them to fall back. It must be said that the weather conditions made the progress of the competitors very difficult with showers and fog. This resulted in mud and very slippery roads. At the end of the morning loop, Ostberg was a fragile leader since the Norwegian was only 1s5 ahead of Heikkilä and 7s5 over Breen.

The positions changed from the beginning of the afternoon. If the rain was still present, the sun also made appearances allowing the earth to dry. Breen signed his 2^e best time of rally and he took the lead. The Irishman, however, remained under threat from Heikkilä at 1s5 and that from Ostberg at 3s7. One of the characteristics of Portuguese paths is that they are very brittle during the 2^es passages and this was verified once again in SS7 where the crews who covered it reported rails and large stones. Victim of two punctures, Breen lost more than 2 minutes and his chances of victory. Despite an engine problem, Heikkilä managed to get out of the time trial which ultimately turned out to be the last one run this Saturday. After Armindo Araujo's violent accident, the special stage was stopped and the next one (SS8) was cancelled. The 31-year-old Finn, who was crowned champion of his country last year, returned to Fafe with a 4s2 lead over Mads Ostberg and 17s2 over Hayden Paddon, author of a cautious and fast day.

Ranking at the end of the first stage of Rally Fafe