From IRC
Bruno Magalhães has claimed his first victory in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge following a thrilling finish to Sata Rally Acores Saturday.
The Peugeot Sport Portugal driver took the lead on Friday’s first stage but dropped out of top spot on stage 15 with a gearbox problem and feared his chances of winning were over.
But in a dramatic turn of events, Juho Hänninen lost first place with a puncture on the penultimate stage before Jan Kopecký, who started the last test leading by 6.4s, crashed out four kilometres from the finish to hand Magalhães an emotional win in front of thousands of enthusiastic fans.
Magalhães had driven without fault throughout the event but his once commanding lead had slowly been eroded by the flying Hänninen, who started Saturday’s final seven stages a mere 2.2s behind his Portuguese rival.
A faster time through the opening stage of the day for Hänninen elevated him into the joint lead of the event. With stage 14 cancelled after a herd of cows had wandered into the road, Hanninen had to wait until the following test to move in front of Magalhães although his task was eased when Magalhães’ gearbox lost its oil and coated the windscreen of his 207 in liquid.
A heroic effort by Magalhães’ mechanics to change his gearbox in the allotted 20-minute service time kept him in the battle for a podium finish before despair turned to joy in the closing stages of the last test when Kopecký crashed out.
Bruno Magalhães has claimed his first victory in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge following a thrilling finish to Sata Rally Acores Saturday.
The Peugeot Sport Portugal driver took the lead on Friday’s first stage but dropped out of top spot on stage 15 with a gearbox problem and feared his chances of winning were over.
But in a dramatic turn of events, Juho Hänninen lost first place with a puncture on the penultimate stage before Jan Kopecký, who started the last test leading by 6.4s, crashed out four kilometres from the finish to hand Magalhães an emotional win in front of thousands of enthusiastic fans.
Magalhães had driven without fault throughout the event but his once commanding lead had slowly been eroded by the flying Hänninen, who started Saturday’s final seven stages a mere 2.2s behind his Portuguese rival.
A faster time through the opening stage of the day for Hänninen elevated him into the joint lead of the event. With stage 14 cancelled after a herd of cows had wandered into the road, Hanninen had to wait until the following test to move in front of Magalhães although his task was eased when Magalhães’ gearbox lost its oil and coated the windscreen of his 207 in liquid.
A heroic effort by Magalhães’ mechanics to change his gearbox in the allotted 20-minute service time kept him in the battle for a podium finish before despair turned to joy in the closing stages of the last test when Kopecký crashed out.