Azores Airlines Rallye 2017

[Iraquiano]

Bonstanci ddn't start SS4, Lopez stuck on 3rd gear if I heard right.

EDIT: Bonstanci will start with Marijan Griebel now(out of place)

EDIT2: Bonstanci with no tyre on rear right, going sideways like a crab.

[omer yetis]

left control arm broken.....

:(

[Mirek]

From U27... Zawada went off in SS3 and lost nearly 4 minutes. Brož lost 6,5 minutes (engine).

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Kajto into the lead.

[WUff1]

Sirmacis showing good pace again on SS4.

[RS]

So is it true that Kajto has joker parts and Lukyanuk does not?

[RS]

Kajto onboard qualy stage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXi9GxPuVfM

[dimviii]

qualifying stage video with mistakes
https://youtu.be/JHObCVNGnj8

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Strange one... Craig Breen is at the Azores Rally.. :look:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v282/EddieFocus/breen_zps79pnmfzh.jpg

[RS]

Strange one... Craig Breen is at the Azores Rally.. :look:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v282/EddieFocus/breen_zps79pnmfzh.jpg

Probably just there to enjoy it unless he is an ambassador for someone..

[Iraquiano]

Murat Bonstanci's big moment at SS3

https://www.facebook.com/DoidosporRally/videos/1254935134603261/

[Luis Pacheco]

Strange one... Craig Breen is at the Azores Rally.. :look:



Molinaro´s boyfriend.

[itix]

Molinaro´s boyfriend.
Isn't he a bit old for her? He's like 27 and she's 18.

[Jarek Z]

Strange one... Craig Breen is at the Azores Rally.. :look:


Great photo Eddie! Thanks for posting! It's great to see the old rivals talking as long time friends now :)

I hope we will have an exciting battle for victory on Friday and Saturday! The rally resumes on Friday at 10h43 local time (12:43 CET).

https://www.fiaerc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/01316009_0955-800x534.jpg

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Moffett on qualy:
Out for a Thursday spin 🙈@FIAERC https://t.co/saFHehOocn

[Jarek Z]

Something for the lovers of statistics - the win on Grupo Marques stage was Kajto's 100th stage win in the ERC :)

[Jarek Z]

Is the dude in the Hyundai any good?

Would be good to have some variety at the front of the field car wise.

Good God, "the dude in the Hyundai" is currently down in the 38th position, even behind R2 cars! What's wrong with him?!

[Rally Power]

Good God, "the dude in the Hyundai" is currently down in the 38th position, even behind R2 cars! What's wrong with him?!

Come on Jarek, Castro may not be the fastest guy around, but he neither is Captain Slow rally version. An open bonnet made him lost huge time in SS3.

Overall, a nice Açores Rally first day. Katjo and Luky on an epic duel replay and five guys fighting for P3, with less than 10 secs between them! Great to see Moura and Magalhães in that pack. In 2wd there’s also a Portuguese driver on the podium, Paulo Antunes (208), behind the amazingly fast Opel duo. Strangely, national Gr.N crews don’t appear on ERC timing (probably some late FIA mess), but Teodósio is the Gr.N leader. Thankfully, eWRC is giving a full combined classification: https://www.ewrc-results.com/results.php?e=36780&Azores-Airlines-Rallye-2017

It’d be great to see today’s close fights continuing till the rally end; the challenging and tricky Azorean roads always provide fantastic rally action and last stage drama is becoming a local tradition. Fingers crossed!

[itix]

Come on Jarek, Castro may not be the fastest guy around, but he neither is Captain Slow rally version. An open bonnet made him lost huge time in SS3.

He swore on the rally radio that he had secured the bonnet. He stopped and secured it and then had to wait for the guy behind.

[Iraquiano]

Another view on Bonstanci crash and Kasperczyk overtaking Castro

http://www.acorianooriental.pt/noticia/murat-bostanci-danifica-fiesta-r5-com-despiste-em-sao-bras-video

[dimviii]

Luky qualify incar
https://youtu.be/B0RUEYAB_cw

[Hartusvuori]

Isn't he a bit old for her? He's like 27 and she's 18.

It's legal.

[itix]

It's legal.
It would have been if he was 50 too. It's the wrong forum to start this debate though so nvm.

[pantealex]

Isn't he a bit old for her? He's like 27 and she's 18.

She is NOT 18y

https://www.ewrc-results.com/profile/60994-Tamara-Molinaro/

[RS]

Last night's day one review programme on Eurosport could have been better.. they need to chose the roadside positions better.. also I'm not keen on the high up in-car camera position pointing down. You can see what the driver is doing but you can't see the road as the light blinds the camera.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Molinaro´s boyfriend.

I dont think so. There may be a link but I dont think its romantic.

All I can find is this:

'Craig Breen is coaching Tamara Molinaro !! 18° Prealpi Master Show 2016'

https://scontent.flhr4-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/15356754_386055755062682_3699910190534355909_n.jpg ?oh=f53a48f6e6896bbe0ebd3f78bd16a669&oe=596970C4

[Hartusvuori]

I dont think so. There may be a link but I dont think its romantic.

All I can find is this:

'Craig Breen is coaching Tamara Molinaro !! 18° Prealpi Master Show 2016'

https://scontent.flhr4-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/15356754_386055755062682_3699910190534355909_n.jpg ?oh=f53a48f6e6896bbe0ebd3f78bd16a669&oe=596970C4

Check out her Instagram, if you're so unwilling to believe it's true. If Craig is not her boyfriend, at least he is her "whole world".

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Check out her Instagram, if you're so unwilling to believe it's true. If Craig is not her boyfriend, at least he is her "whole world".

I'm surprised.. he'd been with his Irish partner for many years.

Anyway, back to Azores... SS5 is LIVE.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Sirmacis with a pucture losing time.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8PerfvWsAAMYWH.jpg

Griebel has started well... fastest so far.

[omer yetis]

any live coverage?

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Kajto off the road !!!

Hit a wall, big damage according to Luky.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

:(

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8PkEHuXcAASxWg.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8PiJV3XgAAe7eU.jpg

[RS]

Shame for the battle but maybe good for the championship. Hope crew ok

[Jarek Z]

It's a shame. I'm afraid there is nobody among the remaining drivers who can catch the Russian now.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

And even the others are getting punctures. But you never know with Lukyanuk, he can still do something crazy.

[Iraquiano]

Both Griebel and Sirmacis with puncture on SS6.

[Iraquiano]

Kajto's crash

https://www.facebook.com/vasco.rodrigues.395/videos/1903260039699575/

Lukyanuk said he was also very close to the wall there

[RS]

Punctures ruining the rally :(

[Iraquiano]

Lukyanuk flying through SS7, 15,9sec ahead of Moura on 2nd split.

[AL14]

Where can I find a temporary ranking? Website not working and very confusional

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Huttunen is doing really well... really close to Ingram here.

[Iraquiano]

Where can I find a temporary ranking? Website not working and very confusional

I'm using rally's website
http://www.azoresrallye.com/rally-17/live-rallye/?r=1

[Jarek Z]

Punctures ruining the rally :(

I remember Simon Jean-Joseph saying that puncture is a driver's error. Lukyanuk doesn't have any punctures (so far) and he drives fastest :)

[Simmi]

Luky really put a whipping on them on the big stage. But like others have said, when he's leading the rally isn't over until (after) the final corner!

[Iraquiano]

On-board of Bonstanci's crash

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOMFgghdDwk

[dimviii]

SS7 stopped after Marcos Gonzalez crash. He was taken to hospital as a precaution. Other crews followed rally route. #FIAERC #RallyAzores

[omer yetis]

Bostanci's note was also calling "don't go wide"
such an unlucky moment :(

[dimviii]

Suarez after ss7,watch the yellow film at front headlights for fog.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8PxfN0XYAAWd34.jpg

[dimviii]

Alves

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8QH4ndXsAAlOTt.jpg

[dimviii]

Catie Munnings

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8QMn7UXoAEHew4.jpg


new diff for Moura

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8QLtmEXcAEwAgH.jpg

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Molinaro

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8QN4suWsAIA0HD.jpg

Breen needs to teach her better ! ;)

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Catie's roll

https://www.facebook.com/nuno.arruda/videos/10155077523935645/

[RS]

Top six of JERC U28 within one minute despite all the punctures.

[Simmi]

Looks like that was quite an interesting corner to be on!

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Josh Moffett @CombiliftRally
Now we are on the move, up to 8th overall, eyes now set on 5th place !

EDIT - has handbrake problem on SS8.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

@FIAERC We had the confirmation that Kajto will restart tomorrow. That's great news! #FIAERC #RallyAzores :)

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Un-Luky now... puncture. Dropped about 20s to Moura.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8QWeevXYAAFCK9.jpg

[WUff1]

:(

[Mirek]

Now Luky's time shows only 21,6 lost. That's nothing with his speed.

What confuses me is that his time appeared only after Moffet.

[Jarek Z]

Is it the first stage win ever in the ERC for Gryazin? If so - congratulations!

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Kajetan Kajetanowicz:
'I can tell you that our job is not an easy one but I love it even when not everything goes according to our plan. I would like to thank the fans for support and our team members for their commitment. Tomorrow we are back on the stages and we will fight for points. This is a beautiful rally and I want to enjoy it...'

[Iraquiano]

Puncture for Moura on SS8, he's using an used tyre now and loses 2,1 to Magalhães and 0,3 to Lukyanuk on SS9. Magalhães's getting closer to 2nd.

[papar007]

No spare for Lukyanuk

[Iraquiano]

Koltun loosing time on the first split and 4min on the second, but no second split for Suarez yet. Big problems?

EDIT:Suarez also looses a lot of time on 2nd split, Griebel and Gryazin look fine though

EDIT2: Sirmacis also loosing a lot of time on 2nd split and it seems like Lukyanuk hit a wall(radio info). Split time so far seems good

EDIT3: Magalhaes 8.9s ahead of Moura on 2nd split, and is virtually on the second place now

[Iraquiano]

Crab Suarez

https://www.facebook.com/ruiandrademoniz/posts/1291477280940860

[Mirek]

Thank You Iraquiano for updates!

By the way great battle between Ingram and Huttunen. Is it first such event for the Finn?

[Iraquiano]

Dominik Broz on the same corner as Munings! Spectators quickly put the car back on 4 wheels and away they went :P

[dimviii]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8QqtrlXgAAE6-U.jpg

[dimviii]

Good news is, Suarez made it to the finish. Bad news is, one of his wheel is not in the best shape

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8Qre75XcAAOVbk.jpg

[Iraquiano]

A typical view on azorean roads for Magalhães! Ahaha!
(Co-Driver Hugo Magalães made a live stream on facebook)

https://www.facebook.com/magalhaesrallycodriver/videos/vb.476267802436621/1382867521776640/?type=2&theater&notif_t=live_video&notif_id=1490978290927801

[Iraquiano]

Rodrigues lost 4min on 1st split, according to a friend, had a puncture and stopped to replace. He was performing very well on his first rally on a R5 and was 2nd on the regional and a second away from 3rd on the national field.

Meanwhile:

Kasperczyk Tomasz
"I think this was the most difficult and hardest stage in the world! Many tricky places, but it went OK for us."
Habaj Łukasz
"We hit a wall and it was quite hard. But the steering and power of the car are OK."
Lukyanuk Alexey
"It's tough event. In the beginning of this stage there was a jump where I touched a wall. Scary moment, we lost rear window."
Moura Ricardo
"We did this loop with destroyed spare tyre, the times were bad."
Sirmacis Ralfs
"We had third puncture today so we stopped and changed it. We need to go to service and prepare the car for tomorrow."
Suárez José Antonio
"I entered one corner too fast and we crashed. I hope team will repair it for tomorrow."
Gryazin Nikolay
"Maybe three times we hit the bank. We have to check the suspension."

I'm expecting to see some videos tonight...

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Ingram increases lead to 4.7s overnight.

[dimviii]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8Q0yvkXoAEFR0S.jpg

[Mirek]

Karel Kupec crashed from third place in U27

https://scontent.fprg1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17634589_1468479933182893_4662290144876523861_n.jp g?oh=56ae8a12b446cabb4a28d278f631a7da&oe=599722DF
https://scontent.fprg1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17554066_1468479959849557_3928478108799768890_n.jp g?oh=c11c7639114cf8eb61e2d068a713ad2e&oe=595D20AA

[Iraquiano]

Ingram increases lead to 4.7s overnight.

Huttunen is showing real pace for a newcomer! I wasn't expecting much competition to Ingram now that everybody's moving to U28 category. Nice surprise!

On U28, Gryazin is on the lead 2,8s ahead of Griebel, even despite the many problems, we are still seeing serious competition ahead.

On overall we have a portuguese fight for second place and with Luky being Luky, it's not guaranteed that we will not see something on the first place as well. He told the portuguese radio that he wanted to go slow on this stage, but as soon as he sees the spectators waving at him he just knows how to drive fast :p

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Even a crash wont stop the Kajto smile. :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v282/EddieFocus/kajto_zpsstsarvle.jpg

[Hartusvuori]

By the way great battle between Ingram and Huttunen. Is it first such event for the Finn?

Incredible battle! Hopefully go down to the wire tomorrow.

It is Huttunen's first ERC event. Prior to this he did Adam Cup in Germany, he did R2 championship in Finland 2015 and smaller event prior to that. He has done around 40 events, starting in 2013. He has done karting for many years before that.

Huttunen is now Opel factory driver. Late last year Marcus Grönholm took Huttunen in his new management team and they are building his career pass 2017 season. Huttunen is a natural talent and very quickly learning and adapting new things. His weaker sides are small budget (no millionaire dad) and too serious character. But the boy can drive, my favourite of the new Finnish guys going for international career.

But the answer to your question is: yes!

Edit: 2015 Huttunen did Rally Finland in DS3 R3 as he won Star of the Future CV. Now his complete cv is written here ��

[stefanvv]

Lukyanuk Alexey
"It's tough event. In the beginning of this stage there was a jump where I touched a wall. Scary moment, we lost rear window."

Lukyanuk to have "scary moment" is something new:)

[RS]

Some nice footage from today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YLEdNVJhrg

[dimviii]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1fZkZs4Wd0

[Luis Pacheco]

Looks like that was quite an interesting corner to be on!

I was there. Is really a nice spot.

[Jarek Z]

Huttunen is a natural talent and very quickly learning and adapting new things. His weaker sides are small budget (no millionaire dad) and too serious character.

Thanks for the info, appreciate it. But what kind of a problem a "Too serious character is"?

[Mirek]

I would say that sponsors naturally prefer personalities like Petter Solberg.

[Jarek Z]

Very good footage of Kajto from day 1 (with English subtitles):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEGvvMCE5wk

And onboard video from Kajto's crash including comments from Kajto himself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Am5eStMwHQ

[Jarek Z]

I would say that sponsors naturally prefer personalities like Petter Solberg.

But cool Finns are also cool, aren't they? ;)

[Mirek]

Broken driveshaft for miss Molinaro. I have to say that she has been better here than I expected.

[Jarek Z]

Crab Suarez

https://www.facebook.com/ruiandrademoniz/posts/1291477280940860

Thanks for sharing all your animal footage, Iraquiano! It was great to see the crab and the cow parade :) Here's a flying bird ;)

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3791/33599346102_c02af16b8e_b.jpg

[dimviii]

https://youtu.be/21A_RZMVqRU

[Andre Oliveira]

WOW Luky

https://www.facebook.com/rui.janeiro.9/posts/1209277439190538

[Jarek Z]

Space Travel :)

https://scontent-waw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/17635116_816342768519538_1391133110117925773_o.jpg ?oh=40dec884d658bdf5a56dc83dd7a4ed36&oe=5969340F

[dimviii]

WOW Luky

https://www.facebook.com/rui.janeiro.9/posts/1209277439190538

cant see it,i have to be logged.

[Mirek]

Same for me.

[Mirek]

Brož before retirement
http://www.autosport.cz/img/clanky/b_1aee7ac9eace5b5eb835766b0b5afb49.jpg

Brož shall restart today, Kupec can't as his car is pretty much destroyed.

[Kestask]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1499035193448564&set=a.285052754846820.75909.100000262931926&type=3 Ralfs Sirmancis is ready for the 3 day :)

[dimviii]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8UU4hzXoAAmBnK.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8UU8ZZXoAEQ1GI.jpg

[Jarek Z]

Don't forget your umbrella when you climb a tree! ;)

[Jarek Z]

The rally resumes in a few minutes. Here is some info about live broadcast from today:
https://www.fiaerc.com/follow-the-erc-azores-airlines-rallye-live-3/

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Incredible fog plus wet & windy this morning, according to rally radio...
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8UftVaXUAABuT2.jpg

[Jarek Z]

OK, after watching an empty sea port for 15 minutes I turned the live broadcast off ;)

[Fast Eddie WRC]

SS 13 - Grupo Marques 2 (SSS) is the live stage on https://www.rtp.pt/play/direto/rtpacores

[Jarek Z]

We have the first victim of Saturday. Carlos Vieira (Citroen DS3 R5) had an accident, a puncture and damaged front and rear end of his car.
I didn't hear correctly the pacenotes - says the driver. He loses his 8th position overall, but continues the rally.

[Mirek]

Kajto reported to have damaged car from some accident too.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Kajto not happy - couple of spins.

Can he score any points here, are there still points for each leg ?

[Jarek Z]

Kajto with problems again - rear right damage and only the 6th time overall.
Bad drive, I'm not happy. It's hard to enjoy and have fun. We had two spins, sometimes it's hard to see anything.

[Jarek Z]

Can he score any points here, are there still points for each leg ?

Yes, there are 7 points for winning a leg.

[dimviii]

Vieira

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8Uk-o-XoAAZNYF.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8UiDBdW0AEwGdx.jpg

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Yet another puncture for Sirmacis !

He needs this on the car:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8T39EYXcAA37di.jpg

[Mirek]

Another puncture for Sirmacis...

[Jarek Z]

Such a disappointment for the young Sirmacis:
We hit a stone in the first corner of the stage. We damaged the suspension, the car is not going straight, later we got a puncture. This is not my weekend.

[Jarek Z]

Brož shall restart today, Kupec can't as his car is pretty much destroyed.

Even though Brož is having a very bad rally and loses over 20 minutes to the leader, he still has a chance for points. There are only 7 JERC drivers left in the rally. All he has to do is to reach the finish of the event.

[dimviii]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8UmtKRXgAAoFzX.jpg

[dimviii]

More
Stage 12 underway, very muddy and really foggy towards the end. #FIAERC #RallyAzores #GotTalentProveIt

[Mirek]

Černý with better road position today moving ahead of Moffet.

[Mirek]

Gryazin reported stopped

[dimviii]

Luky stopped

Puncture after a cut and power stearing issues for @nikolay_gryazin,losing 03:38.7 to Marijan Griebel #JuniorU28 #FIAERC #RallyAzores

[Jarek Z]

Gryazin Nikolay: We hit a curb with left rear, we lost powersteering and got a puncture. We drove maybe 15 kilometers without it.
He loses over 3 minutes :(

[Jarek Z]

What is going on? Is it a survival event? Is anybody going to finish it?

[Mirek]

What is going on? Is it a survival event? Is anybody going to finish it?

It's fog out there.

[RS]

Next stage is a short one so i hope all guys can make it to service and sort their problems.

[Jarek Z]

Maybe it's better to have a slower car in those conditions? Ingram and Huttunen made excellent times on SS11 - 16th and 17th overall respectively. Better than many R5 drivers. Well done!

[dimviii]

Luky= quaranteed drama

[Jarek Z]

Kajetanowicz Kajetan: I think Lukyanuk is changing something maybe 7 kms after the stage. To be honest I really lost concentration after seeing him, I feel sorry for him. Demanding stage, asbolutely slippery, narrow and foggy.

Kajto only 5th overall on SS12.

[RS]

Stage win for Griebel. JERC 2wd seems to be a really good school when you also remember Sirmacis won three events last year. Gryazin has been impressive here too.

[Mirek]

+9,5 minutes for Luky, broken steering arm from hitting a rock.

[Jarek Z]

It must be the first stage win ever in the ERC for Griebel, so congratulations from me! :)

But there is still a long way in front of him. He loses 99 stage wins to Kajto now :D

[Mirek]

Stage win for Griebel. JERC 2wd seems to be a really good school when you also remember Sirmacis won three events last year. Gryazin has been impressive here too.

Also Moura won't do the rest of ERC and Magalhaes hasn't announced any ERC campaign either. It means Griebel and Černý are in the best championship posiiton now.

[dimviii]

Luky lost 9,30 min from Griebel at stage

Lukyanuk Alexey - Arnautov Alexey
"We hit a rock and we broke the steering arm"


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8Uyp4fXgAACwQJ.jpg

[Jarek Z]

+9,5 minutes for Luky, broken steering arm from hitting a rock.

That means that Magalhaes and Moura are fighting for overall win now! Only 9 seconds between them and 4 stages to go!

[mousti]

WOW Luky

https://www.facebook.com/rui.janeiro.9/posts/1209277439190538

Can't see it..

[RS]

Third Fiesta steering arm breakage for Luky in two years :(

[Fast Eddie WRC]

I miss one stage and there it is.. the Lukyanuk drama.

[Jarek Z]

Good God, have mercy! Another crash. Suárez: broken wheel and damaged rear right end. The Spaniard loses 1:45 :(

[Mirek]

Suarez broke rear wheel again.

[dimviii]

havoc at ss12 there is Suarez

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8UzfbaXkAAObVj.jpg

[dimviii]

this guy manage to destroy cars even without being fast.
Wonder how he got the drive.

[Francis44]

Moura will absolutely go for it but if Magalhães wins I will be so delighted for him, almost a full year away from competition and brand new car without much Kms in tests, hopefully this means we will see much more of him this year even if just on the National championship.

[Jarek Z]

this guy manage to destroy cars even without being fast.
Wonder how he got the drive.

Yes, indeed. Back to crab mode for Suarez. I read somewhere that he won Peugeot Trophy in France. How did he manage to beat all the (usually good) French drivers with such reliability?

[Mirek]

Nice that while everybody keeps crashing Ingram and Huttunen drive still on nearly same pace!

[dimviii]

Magalhaes is reborned with fabia.He was not even fast with 208.Nice surprise.

[Jarek Z]

Only on this one stage Jan Cerny moved from 7th to 4th overall!

[Iraquiano]

One can not wake up late with Luky.

Today's stages are demanding, both Tronqueira and Graminhais are known to be very tricky and Luky is far from being the first one loosing the rally on Tronqueira, he could have asked Kopecky for example, or even Abbring's going off at the river on live TV.

Graminhais is usually foggy and has a lot of slippy/muddy kms. And Tronqueira is also very twisty at places, slippery inside the forest and is the favorite stage among many locals, we usually say "Tronqueira é madrasta" which can be translated into "Tronqueira is step-mother"(meaning it can be treacherous :p )

So basically, today is another drama day on this rally.

Live stream should start in 20min for the "race of champions" stage

[Iraquiano]

SS12 is looking something like this
https://www.facebook.com/KajetanKajetanowicz/videos/1551027784930484/

[Rallyper]

HAve not full info, but is there two classifications in this Rally? Kajto 5th today, without any timepenalties.
Then Lucky won 1st leg. Points?

[Mirek]

There is only one classification but the separate leg standings are used to bring bonus points. So yes, Luky takes some points for leg 1 and Kajto possibly for leg 2.

[Jarek Z]

HAve not full info, but is there two classifications in this Rally? Kajto 5th today, without any timepenalties.
Then Lucky won 1st leg. Points?

There is a classification for the whole rally and separate points for each leg. For winning the rally you can get max 25 points. For winning each leg - 7 points. So the maximum number of points is 25 + 7 + 7 = 39.

[RS]

Yes, indeed. Back to crab mode for Suarez. I read somewhere that he won Peugeot Trophy in France. How did he manage to beat all the (usually good) French drivers with such reliability?

I would not be too harsh on anybody on this event. It's muddy, the stages are narrow and there is often poor visibility.

Actually Suarez was maybe slightly quicker than I was expecting too.

[Jarek Z]

I would not be too harsh on anybody on this event. It's muddy, the stages are narrow and there is often poor visibility.

I'm sorry if I was too harsh. I thought he was crashing all the time, regardless of the road conditions?

[eddy707]

Are there any stages broadcasted live today?

[Iraquiano]

Are there any stages broadcasted live today?

Starting now:
http://www.rtp.pt/play/direto/rtpacores

[RS]

I'm sorry if I was too harsh. I thought he was crashing all the time, regardless of the road conditions?

It's a tricky rally. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt and hope he will deliver on future events :)

[sindroms]

Luky= quaranteed drama

Alexey, Alexey... ("Eugeny, Eugeny... ((c) Denis Giraudaet). I admire Alexey very much (starting from his Opel Astra times already). But... we have got to accept and live with it that his driving style is not suitable for bringing car to the finish.

[RS]

Did Alexy replace the steering arm?

[Iraquiano]

Did Alexy replace the steering arm?

I don't think so, TV coverage said he won't start...at least in his order

Magalhães 0,3s quicker than Moura, gap is now 9,6s for the next 3 stages (56km total)

[eddy707]

Rego with no brakes at all if I heard correctly...
That must be fun

[electroliquid]

Rego with no brakes at all if I heard correctly...
That must be fun

#12flagRego Jr. Luís - Rodrigues da Silva Nuno
"I didn't have hand-brake"

[RS]

Sirmacis wiped the mud off his car where his sponsor logos are, wise man!

[Fast Eddie WRC]

So has Luky retired ?

[Mirek]

Polish disaster on SSS... Habaj and Kasperczyk in troubles.

[RS]

So has Luky retired ?

I presumed he had replaced the steering arm as he made it to the end of the stage. If so then no sense to retire, a point or two could still have been possible.

[electroliquid]

Sirmacis wiped the mud off his car where his sponsor logos are, wise man!

It's so hard rally for Sirmacis, he need good result most of all U28; I think he's only U28, that still don't have program for whole season, he need sponsors, we know he can drive and drive fast.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

I presumed he had replaced the steering arm as he made it to the end of the stage. If so then no sense to retire, a point or two could still have been possible.

He lost a lot of time in the stage fixing it so maybe too much to win any points in Leg 2...

[Iraquiano]

#12flagRego Jr. Luís - Rodrigues da Silva Nuno
"I didn't have hand-brake"

I heard both interviews(EN and PT) on tv stream, he clearly said no foot or handbrake, only gearbox.



Fast Eddie WRC
So has Luky retired ?

Luky out, haven't seen anything official, but people said so on the facebook rally group, and the car is on Service Park.


PS:Regional newspaper says Azores Airlines Rally is going to WRC :p

[RS]

He lost a lot of time in the stage fixing it so maybe too much to win any points in Leg 2...

3m30s off 10th. If anybody could do that it would be Luky!

[Mirek]

Wow, Huttunen took 6 seconds on SSS.

[eddy707]

Also Remennik showing good speed with Evo X on this stage, 10th fastest.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Wow, Huttunen took 6 seconds on SSS.

What happened to Ingram.. hard fought lead gone on the SSS ???

[Mirek]

Moffet back on par with Černý.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

SS14 - Moffett catching Cerny... just 0.4s down now !

[Iraquiano]

Another animal encounter, this time, the ducks were in bad position, shame to the marshalls! :P

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10208561772110384&set=pcb.1713509352280300&type=3&theater

[Iraquiano]

Moura stopped!

EDIT: Stopped near the lake where Bonstanci crashed.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1732059533751067&set=gm.1713513995613169&type=3&theater

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Moura stopped... more drama.

[Mirek]

And Gryazin another puncture.

[Iraquiano]

More coverage on Moura:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1486714001363517&set=gm.1713514695613099&type=3&theater

[Mirek]

Do I understand well that it's technical problem?

[Fast Eddie WRC]

The lagoon
https://scontent.flhr4-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17634762_1486714351363482_4649054218927802131_n.jp g?oh=9dec78f071245527b7a90fadfca516d4&oe=59549BD4

https://scontent.flhr4-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17498962_1486713698030214_8697394636400506886_n.jp g?oh=593c94ef69494040ac4811b37cbac1ca&oe=59939A5C

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Sirmacis puncture AGAIN !! Is this a record ?

[Mirek]

Another puncture for Sirmacis. That's not even funny anymore.

Edit: I'm slow :)

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Radio saying Ingram's car been cutting-out.. maybe why he lost time ?

Fuel pump, fuel tank changed.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Huttunen now leads by 2.9s.

[Iraquiano]

Lukyanuk's retirement at 4:10s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF_MJR7sqKs

[Mirek]

Fuel pump, fuel tank changed.

Seems that everything is fixed and working fine after service.

[Mirek]

Lukyanuk's retirement at 4:10s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF_MJR7sqKs

Very unfortunate as it seems. Similar to the mistake from Barum...

[RS]

Sirmacis puncture AGAIN !! Is this a record ?

I wonder whether SRT are regretting their switch to Pirelli now..

[Iraquiano]

Cerny not appearing on first split. C'mon! Another SS, another drama!

EDIT: GPS stopped on the app

[eddy707]

Radio reports that Griebel stopped

[Iraquiano]

Radio reports that Griebel stopped

Griebel is quickest on 2nd split, should be Cerny

[Mirek]

Another crash, this time Černý...

According to his FB it he rolled in a rather slow corner.

[Iraquiano]

Peugeot surprised his azorean fans by replacing Suarez with C.Sainz (Senior) on the last day :p

[Iraquiano]

Cerny's car:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1429383143779612&set=gm.1713550428942859&type=3&theater

[Iraquiano]

Lukyanuk's crash on SS12:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=880yz-n40L8

[dimviii]

Magalhaes is reborned with fabia.He was not even fast with 208.Nice surprise.

Magalhaes comments after ss 15

Very difficult conditions, fog, mud, everything. I'm trying to keep the position, this car is amazing. So many years I wanted to drive car like this and here it is.

[Jarek Z]

What?! Cerny too?! I went to visit my parents, I come back home and what do I see? Lukyanuk out, Habaj out, Kasperczyk out, Moura out, Suarez out, Botka out, Cerny out... The death list goes on... What the hell is going on?! ;)

[dimviii]

Lukyanuk's crash on SS12:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=880yz-n40L8

again silly mistake from Alexey.

[dimviii]

I wonder whether SRT are regretting their switch to Pirelli now..

I don't think is related to Pirelli.

[dimviii]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8V2hnFXgAAT6ya.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8V2hpmXYAEKq0m.jpg

[dimviii]

#JuniorU27 update... gearbox issue for @ChrisIngramGB "It's about survival now" @HuttunenRacing now has a 6" lead with 22Km to go.

[Iraquiano]

Albert Von Thurn Und Taxis should be another name to add to the list...

Huttunen adds another 3,1s to his lead, gap is now 6sec for the last stage which is now underway

[106 sport]

Lukyanuk's crash on SS12:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=880yz-n40L8

It s a pitty.

[RS]

Lukyanuk's crash on SS12:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=880yz-n40L8

I think he's upset.

Is this solely a Luky problem or does the Fiesta have a weakness there? It seems to happen a lot.

[Jarek Z]

Lukyanuk's crash on SS12:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=880yz-n40L8

Does anybody need translation from Russian?

Co-driver - Right 3
Co-driver - 15, left 7, very sharp
Co-driver - 130
Driver - [not understandable]
Driver - Niiiieeeeeeeeettttt!!! [Noooooooooooo!!!!]
Driver - Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!
Driver - Bliaaaaddd!!! [F...uuuuuck!]
Driver - Niiiieeeeeeeeettttt!!! [Noooooooooooo!!!!]

That's all I know about Russian ;)
But on a more serious note - it's a shame it ended this way :(

[RS]

I don't think is related to Pirelli.

Probably not but it must have crossed their minds. Ridiculous amount of punctures for one rally.

[Jarek Z]

The hast stage has started... I keep my fingers crossed for Bruno Magalhaes...

[Iraquiano]

Sergei Remennik doesn't appear on 2nd split at SS15, L. Pimentel may have the chance to win the ERC2.

[Mirek]

Griebel stopped???

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Griebel stopped ?? This is just crazy.

[Iraquiano]

Griebel stopped???

Portuguese radio says he's arriving at the end of the stage, should be GPS problems

EDIT: Just arrived! Quickest so far

[WRC1]

Griebel finished....WTF please stop this "fake news"

[Jarek Z]

Ufff! Fake news even in the world of rallying?

[Iraquiano]

Magalhães finishes!

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Podium for Josh Moffett... amazing considering not his best surface and spun on qually !

[Jarek Z]

Sirmacis puncture AGAIN !! Is this a record ?

Sirmacis' list of punctures according to https://rally-base.com/crew-profile/crew-detail/?competitionId=430&crewId=33845&ssGroupId=1&cupId=55 :
SS5
SS6
SS10
SS11
SS14 (probably, I'm not sure)

[Iraquiano]

Griebel finished....WTF please stop this "fake news"

April fools! :p

[Jarek Z]

What a great comeback of Bruno Magalhaes! Congratulations!!!

[dimviii]

What a great comeback of Bruno Magalhaes! Congratulations!!!

he really deserves the win after all these hard circumstances.No mistake from him.Congrats.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Congrats to all who finished without any mistakes or damaging their car. Tough, tough rally.

[Jarek Z]

Sirmacis: It was great experience in tyre changing... But we are here and safe in the finish. It was really crazy rally for us.

After all those punctures the 7th position is not so bad.

[Iraquiano]

Ingram 1,5s ahead of Hutunnen on first split...

EDIT: 2nd split, Huttunen now ahead by 2,6s

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Huttunen ?? What's going on.

[Iraquiano]

Huttunen stopped on the river! At the end of the last stage!

Crashed on the same spot as Kevin Abbring!

End of the stage is a couple of meters ahead

[FAlonso]

Huttunen crashed. Last meters of the stage...

[Mirek]

Oh god...

[Jarek Z]

Is this April fools joke or what?!

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Incredible. Just incredible.

Pleased for Ingram to win but Huttunen deserves big sympathy.

[Iraquiano]

It seems he went too fast onto the river, hit the water very hard and stopped. This is just...

EDIT:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1743512162625627&set=gm.1713600582271177&type=3&theater (slightly better view)

[Mirek]

I wanted to wait for Huttunen to finish before writing about who impressed me the most in this rally and it ended like this... anyway I think that it's still him because his performance was simply incredible considering his experience. Also very impressed by Magalhaes and Griebel.

[FAlonso]

Fantastic Win for Bruno! A long, rich career in rallying often hampered by funding/sponsorship issues!

[dimviii]

so some electrical problem because of crossing water?

[dimviii]

Ingram has to change his comments after last stage

#34
Ingram Chris - Edmondson Elliott
Disappointing afternoon after previous drive. We should have won this one.

[Iraquiano]

I wanted to wait for Huttunen to finish before writing about who impressed me the most in this rally and it ended like this... anyway I think that it's still him because his performance was simply incredible considering his experience. Also very impressed by Magalhaes and Griebel.

Same, although I would add Crab Suarez, and the top Juniors U28(before problems), I wasn't expecting such high level right at the start of the season. And Remennik which didn't finish as well, but should have won easilly, athough, to be fair, he was on level of its own on ERC2.

But surely, Huttunen is a guy to keep an eye on.

[Andre Oliveira]

What a great comeback of Bruno Magalhaes! Congratulations!!!

Don't forget Hugo Magalhães. Top co-driver. Real professional and metodic!

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Happy for my two favourites... Ingram won & Moffett a podium.

Agree Huttunen was mega impressive.

What a rally to start the ERC season !

[dimviii]

drama haven't finished yet...

And there was drama in #ERC2 as well... Sergei Remennik retired in ss15, this means Luís Pimentel is the winner! Congratulations! #FIAERC

[Jarek Z]

European Championship standings after round 1:
1. Magalhaes (38)
2. Griebel (26)
3. Moffett (20)
...
Lukyanuk (7)
Kajetanowicz (6)

[Iraquiano]

Jari Huttunen resting after the river...

Photo sent to me by a friend, Paulo Costa

[stefanvv]

Co-driver - 15, left 7, very sharp

That's a lesson for him next time - "very sharp" means "don't cut", just as with the knives.
Yesterday I thought he might have problems cruising, and here it goes unfortunate.

[dimviii]

Jari Huttunen resting after the river...

Photo sent to me by a friend, Paulo Costa

mate thanks for all the updates through the rally!!

Jari Huttunen Racing‏*
Drive shaft broke before a watersplash and uphill so Jari had to stop. He didn't hit anything. Just bad luck. @FIAERC #RallyAzores

[Jarek Z]

Same, although I would add Crab Suarez, and the top Juniors U28(before problems), I wasn't expecting such high level right at the start of the season.

I didn't know you were a lover of crab driving ;)

Speaking of Suarez, can you see any straight part in this car? ;)
https://www.fiaerc.com/suarez-gets-to-work-in-the-erc/

[Iraquiano]

mate thanks for all the updates through the rally!!

Jari Huttunen Racing‏*
Drive shaft broke before a watersplash and uphill so Jari had to stop. He didn't hit anything. Just bad luck. @FIAERC #RallyAzores

You're welcome, I grew up on the island, it's just hard for me to be away from this rally.

Btw, Pluto, the goal of your pickems challenge is to guess which drivers don't finish, right?

[dimviii]

eWRC-results‏*@eWRCresults
Bruno Magalhães: "We won the national, we are leading the @FIAERC and now we go home... (no budget)" @MotorsportSkoda @skodafabiar5

[Jarek Z]

Crab rallying with Suarez:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHmmqc6wuyQ

[dimviii]

Colin McRae ERC Flat Out Trophy goes to @HuttunenRacing... well deserved! #FIAERC #RallyAzores #JuniorU27


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8Whkj3XsAQdYmt.jpg

[BigWorm]

What even was this rally.. proper junkyard!

[Luis Pacheco]

PS:Regional newspaper says Azores Airlines Rally is going to WRC :p

1st of April.

[WUff1]

Most impressed by Griebel, Suarez and Huttunen - but also big deserved win for Magalhaes.

[Mirek]

Crash of Kupec on onboard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0UGPS3LWN8

PS It's a beautiful stage but the first kilometers on asphalt are quite useless.

[dimviii]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8Yu37oXgAAGpGT.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8Yu47OXcAEcjJ5.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8YvqqjXgAEDECN.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8Yvs1iXgAA_epa.jpg

[mousti]

Yes, indeed. Back to crab mode for Suarez. I read somewhere that he won Peugeot Trophy in France. How did he manage to beat all the (usually good) French drivers with such reliability?
The year he won, he was absolutely dominating, almost winning all events if I recall correctly.

[Jarek Z]

Video summary of the last day from Lotos Rally Team:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0Y2U_E1SQI

[stefanvv]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vhjFQ_XVNc

[Rally Power]

Huge congrats to Bruno and Hugo! A top speed and faultless rally from this brave crew. It's really a shame they can't get more chances to compete. Congrats also to ARC Sport, the team that rented and serviced the Fabia, for another win on an ERC event.

I just followed the rally first day, but from the forum posts and TV highlights it seems this was a thought one! Lukyanuk and Huttunen (and also the Russian fellow that was leading ERC Gr.N) were really unlucky and deserved better. Moura also deserved to be able to fight till the last SS but, no matter what, this time it was Bruno’s time!

Above all, another fantastic Açores Rally and a nice ERC season start, promising the series will be interesting to follow all year long.