On the hats of (three) wheels

The Azores Rally got off to a flying start. After 500 meters in the first Friday special (SS2), the first leader, Freddy Loix (Peugeot 207 S2000), hit an embankment on the right front and the tire came off the rim.

Published on 08/05/2009 à 15:09

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In the last corner of SS3, Juho Hanninen (Skoda Fabia S2000), who was fighting for first place with Kris Meeke (Peugeot 207 S2000), violently hit a rock. He destroyed the right rear suspension, made a makeshift repair and managed to reach the service park after losing more than 10′ in SS4. Finally, Meeke took his turn, in the last curve of SS4, but the penalty was less heavy: only the right rear wheel was destroyed. The incident did not prevent him from setting the best time, 4”4 ahead of Nicolas Vouilloz (Peugeot 207 S2000). Furthermore, Giandomenico Basso complains about the lack of balance and oversteer of his Abarth Grande Punto S2000.

At the midday break, Meeke is in the lead with an advantage of 13”2 over Vouilloz, 25”8 over Magalhaes (Peugeot 207 S2000) and 26”3 over Alén (Abarth Grande Punto S2000).