Action unfold in Ypres Rally on Saturday morning 23.06.2012: IRC SERIES GEKO YPRES RALLY 2012 Saturday Morning After SS10: Hanninen back on the pace in Ypres Juho Hänninen has extended his

IRC SERIES   GEKO YPRES RALLY 2012  Saturday Morning




After SS10: Hanninen back on the pace in Ypres


Juho Hänninen has extended his lead of the Geko Ypres Rally after an off-road moment cost Freddy Loix vital time in his Peugeot 207 Super 2000 on the 28.82-kilometre Hollebeke stage.


Hänninen, in a ŠKODA Motorsport Fabia Super 2000, was 4.1s quicker than Loix and now leads the Intercontinental Rally Challenge round by 26.9s heading to the Lille-Eurométropole stage across Belgium’s border with France.


Loix, the seven-time Ypres winner, completed the stage with a build up of grass in the front of his 2C Competition entry.


Pieter Tsjoen was third quickest with Patrik Flodin back up to competitive speed following repairs to his PS Engineering M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000 at midday service in Ypres.


In the battle for eighth place, Antonín Tlusťák has moved ahead of Andreas Aigner with Mathias Viaene also demoting the Austrian Subaru Impreza driver, who continues to lead the IRC Production Cup by a margin of 47.0s over Bob Colsoul.


Mathieu Arzeno’s bid for IRC 2WD Cup success has suffered a setback after the French driver went off the road into a ditch early in the stage. It means Estonian youngster Martin Kangur holds a comfortable advantage in his Honda Civic Type R. Christian Riedemann reported a loss of brakes, while a puncture delayed Robert Consani’s Renault Mégane RS.


The Lille-Eurométropole stage goes live at 14:47hrs local time.





After SS9: Ypres legend Loix closes on Hanninen


Freddy Loix continues to eat into Juho Hänninen’s lead of the Geko Ypres Rally by going 10.6s faster than the former Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion through stage nine, Watou 1.


Loix, in a 2C Competition Peugeot 207 Super 2000, now trails ŠKODA Motorsport driver Hänninen by 22.8s heading to regroup and service in Ypres.


Despite having admitted defeat in his bid to catch Hänninen, Loix – a seven-time Ypres winner – was able to take advantage of the Finn’s indecision at several junctions.


IRC Production Cup frontrunner Andreas Aigner is suffering from serious brake problems in his Subaru Impreza, and reported having to rely on his handbrake only to complete the run. However, he still heads the category after Jasper Van den Heuvel retired from the category lead on the previous stage with broken transmission.


Following the 25-minute service in Ypres, crews head to the first running of the 28.82-kilometre Hollebeke run, which gets underway at 13:42hrs local time.





After SS8: Loix fastest as Hanninen makes rare error


Juho Hänninen continues to lead the Geko Ypres Rally despite being beaten through Saturday’s second stage by local hero Freddy Loix, a seven-time winner of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge event.


Finn Hänninen lost precious time when he made a small mistake at a junction. However, his advantage out front stands at a relatively comfortable 33.4s. “There are 75 million junctions on this stage and I turned in too early for one of the them,” said the factory ŠKODA Motorsport pilot.


Loix said: “I’m pushing, what can I say. I can’t go quicker. I know the way how ŠKODA is working and how Juho is driving. I knew it would be a tough rally.”


Pieter Tsjoen was second fastest through the stage, 3.4s down on Loix. He holds third in the overall classification.




Swede Patrik Flodin is nursing a broken left-rear driveshaft in his Petter Solberg Engineering M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000. As a result he has slipped behind Poland’s Michal Sołowow and Ukrainian Oleksandr Saliuk into sixth overall.


Mathias Viaene lost almost three minutes with a front-right puncture, which delayed the chasing Robert Barrable, who reported struggling to overtake the stricken Peugeot due to the narrow nature of the Belgian roads.





After SS7: Drama in Ypres as Mikkelsen retires


The Geko Ypres Rally leaderboard has been turned on its head as day two of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge got off to a dramatic start.


Defending IRC champion Andreas Mikkelsen is out after breaking a suspension arm on his ŠKODA UK Motorsport Fabia overshooting a junction and going off the road approximately 16 kilometres into the 26.75-kilometre Heuvelland 1.


Members of his team have been despatched to the stage to bring the damaged Fabia Super 2000 back to service in Ypres, confirmation of Mikkelsen’s first retirement in the IRC since the Canon Mecsek Rallye in Hungary last September.


IRC 2WD Cup leader Kris Princen has crashed his Renault Mégane RS, while a broken driveshaft has hit Patrik Flodin’s hopes of a podium finish in his Petter Solberg Engineering M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000. Princen’s retirement means Martin Kangur now leads the IRC 2WD Cup for Honda.


Dream Team Ukraine’s Oleksandr Saliuk is up to seventh after going fifth fastest through the stage on his Ypres Rally debut.


Jasper Van den Heuvel has overtaken Subaru’s Andreas Aigner in the chase for IRC Production Cup honours. The Dutchman was a sensational fourth quickest in his Ralliart Lancer. The class has lost Cédric De Cecco, who crashed his Lancer on the stage.


Out front, former IRC champion Juho Hänninen has claimed his sixth stage victory on the challenging asphalt event following another sensational performance in his ŠKODA Motorsport Fabia Super 2000. His overall advantage ahead of Freddy Loix now stands at 38.2s.


- Richard Rodgers -  photos IRC