Day one of Rally Serras De Fafe has passed. Mikko Heikklä would lead the rally by 4.2 seconds after the day.
SS1, SSS FAFE
Stage one would see Ricardo Teodósio take the stage win, beating Erik Cais by 0.2 seconds. Miko Marczyk would place third on the stage, 1.1 seconds behind Cais. Hayden Paddon and Simone Tempestini would tie for fourth on the stage, with each driver finishing 0.3 seconds behind Marczyk.
SS2, BOTICAS – VALE DO TAMEGA 1
Stage two would see Mads Østberg take the stage win, beating Martins Sesks by 2.5 seconds. Hayden Paddon would place third on the stage, 1.6 seconds behind Sesks. Mikko Heikkla would place fourth on the stage, 0.7 seconds behind Paddon. Pontus Tidemand would round out the top five, finishing the stage 0.5 seconds behind Heikklä.
SS3, BOTICAS – SR DO MONTE 1
Stage three would see Craig Breen take the stage win, beating Mikko Heikklä by 1.5 seconds. Hayden Paddon would place third on the stage, 4.9 seconds behind Heikkla. Georg Linnamäe would place fourth on the stage, 0.1 seconds behind Paddon. Mads Østberg would round out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.9 seconds behind Linnamäe.
SS4, ROUGH HEADS 1
Stage four would see Mads Østberg take the stage win, beating Craig Breen by 2.3 seconds. Mikko Heikkla would place third on the stage, 1.5 seconds behind Breen. Georg Linnamäe would place fourth on the stage, 0.8 seconds behind Heikklä. Miko Marczyk would round out the top five, finishing the stage 1.4 seconds behind Linnamäe.
SS6, BOTICAS – VALE DO TAMEGA 2
Stage six would see Craig Breen take the stage win, beating Mikko Heikklä by 7.9 seconds. Hayden Paddon would place third on the stage, 0.6 seconds behind Heikklä. Georg Linnamäe would place fourth on the stage, 0.3 seconds behind Paddon. Mads Østberg would round out the top five, finishing the stage 2.4 seconds behind Linnamäe.
SS7, BOTICAS – SR DO MONTE 2
Stage seven would see Mikko Heikklä take the stage win, beating Hayden Paddon by 0.7 seconds. Mads Østberg would place third on the stage 1.3 seconds behind Paddon. Martins Sesks would place fourth on the stage, 0.7 seconds behind Østberg. Miko Marczyk would round out the top five, finishing the stage six seconds behind Sesks. These results will likely be removed from the final rally times due to the stage being cancelled.
Stages Canceled
Stages five, seven, eight and nine would be cancelled, with three being canceled due to safety concerns. SS5 would be canceled due to safety reasons. SS7 was canceled due to an accident involving Amindo Araújo. Stages eight and nine would be canceled due to safety concerns. Stage seven would run though until the accident, but as previously mentioned these times will likely be removed from the final result. Alternatively the slowest time on the stage could be given to the competitors who were unable to run the stage as a result of the accident. It’s unknown at this time what the ERC will decide to do.
Araujo Out
Amindo Araújo would crash out on SS7, causing the previously mentioned stage cancellation. Both Araújo and co-driver Luis Ramalho would be transported to hospital. A statement released by the team would confirm both Araújo and Ramalho are ok. With the team releasing the following statement regarding the accident: “Unfortunately Amindo Araújo and Luis Ramalho would suffer an accident on SS7 and are out of Rally Serras De Fafe. The Skoda Fabia Rally2 crew did not present any apparent physical injuries but were transported to hospital for precautionary checks.”
My name is Joe Moore. I am a writer for Belly Up Hockey, Belly Up Racing, and USA Informing. you can find me on Twitter.
