Hungary – Gryazin solid leader in a day full of twists and turns!

After seven special stages out of the fourteen on the programme, it is Nikolay Gryazin who is at the head of this Rally from Hungary. The driver of the Volkswagen Polo GTi R5 had already won the first ES which took place this Friday evening, before increasing his lead by signing two scratches during the first two outings of the morning. While Erik Cais thought he would achieve the big blow this Saturday by taking the leading position after SS5, a puncture caused the Czech to fall to 9th position, more than two minutes from the lead! A racing event that benefited Gryazin.

Behind, the fight for the podium remains very undecided, since Norbert Herczig (+25″8) and Mads Østberg (+39″7) are held within 13 seconds, with Efrén Llarena and Mikolaj Marczyk who come back strong before the final stage of the weekend.

Puncture for Mikkelsen and Turán!#FIAERC #RallyHungary pic.twitter.com/LLObb165E8

— European Rally Championship (@FIAERC) October 23, 2021

A mixed day for Andreas Mikkelsen

On the third step of the podium after SS2, the very recent WRC2 champion plunged to 7th place mid-morning, the fault of a major engine problem. At that time, Andreas Mikkelsen even thought he would have to give up the following special stages, which would have postponed his coronation in ERC. Finally, the Norwegian took advantage of the assistance between the two loops to repair his Skoda Fabia and set off again during the last three special stages of the day. First 6th, he managed to get back to the podium, taking advantage of punctures from Erik Cais and Miklos Csomos. However, the recent winner of the Azores and Fafe rallies suffered a puncture in the last special, dropping back to 7th position. “We had a puncture on the right front, we probably had it on the gravel. No chance " regretted the Scandinavian.

Disillusionment for Yoann Bonato

The only Frenchman competing in this ERC Rally of Hungary, the Citroën driver suffered a puncture in the first kilometers of SS2. “I got it at the start of the stage, but it was very narrow and we had to continue further. It's not a very good start, maybe at the end of the rally it will be better”. Yoann Bonato is two minutes behind, and is only in 11th position before starting the last day. 

The Hungarian Rally standings after seven stages: