Intercontinental Rally Championship

FIAT-Abarth team driver Giandomenico Basso has won his third Rali Vinho Madeira after a gripping battle with local hero Bruno Magalhaes.  Basso took the victory with just 3.5s between them after 21 stages.

Basso joins two other men, Americo da Silva Nunes and Pierro Liatti in the record books of three-time winners, and puts himself into contention for the Intercontinental Rally Challenge title and into the lead of the FIA European Rally Championship.

Basso stamped his authority from the start of the first full day, after championship leader Kris Meeke won the opening superspecial on Thursday evening.

It was far from being an easy win. Basso's pace was slowed in the final part of the opening leg, when he lost the reverse gear in his Abarth Grande Punto S2000 and had to drive cautiously to avoid a spin from which he would have difficulty to escape.

Then on the final day with Portuguese star Bruno Magalhaes in his Peugeot 207 S2000 persistent in pursuit, Basso spun just three stages from home. Magalhaes struck back with two straight stage wins to close the gap down to under eight seconds. Yet at the finish the Italian had just enough in reserve to hold on.

"It was fast, nervous and exciting," said an elated Basso. "The team has been working hard and the car was strong. This event is very special to me, and to make my third win here after losing on the last stage last year is fantastic."

No less thrilled to be runner-up against the IRC front-runners, Magalhaes was equally demonstrative. "It's a great honor for me to be able to perform so strongly among such great drivers," he said. "It was a long rally, very tense at the finish but second place really feels like a win to me."

It was championship leader Kris Meeke in his Peugeot 207 S2000 who took an early lead in Madeira with an exceptional drive through the streets of Funchal to claim Thursday evening's superspecial by 0.9 seconds.

But when the rally headed out into the green and mountainous roads around the island, Basso's experience came to the fore and he put together a string of eight fastest stage times to go into the lead at the end of Leg 1.

At the start of Day Two,  Basso had a fresh gearbox in his Grande Punto a then set about to trade fastest stage times with Magalia’s. 

Defending IRC champion Nicolas Vouilloz won SS18 to close up on Alex Camacho in third-place. Yet the positions were static even though the speed advantage ebbed and flowed from driver to driver.

"We started a little slow, though we were trying to go fast," said Vouilloz. "I'm not really happy about the weekend but the car was good today and we were able to drive to the maximum."

Peugeot filled eight of the top 10 positions. A duel between Meeke and Freddy Loix was proved to be another exciting battle that raged throughout the event for fifth place and may well prove pivotal for the championship.

Meeke held a six point advantage over Loix Going in to the Rally Madeira. Now the Briton has 34 points, Jan Kopecky has 29 and both Loix and Basso have 27.

"This is a very, very special rally," Meeke said. "To come here for the first time and win would be impossible, the top four guys were incredible and to be just over a minute behind after three hours is amazing. The points you win on a bad weekend are the ones that count the most."

Top 10 Finishers

1    Giandomenico Basso (I)    Abarth Grande Punto S2000     3hrs 9m 55.4s
2     Bruno Magalhaes (P)    Peugeot 207 S2000    +3.5s
3     Alex Camacho (P)     Peugeot 207 S2000    +41.7s
4     Nicolas Vouilloz (F)    Peugeot 207 S2000    +49.4s
5     Kris Meeke (GB)    Peugeot 207 S2000    +1m 21.9s
6     Freddy Loix (B)    Peugeot 207 S2000    +1m 28.4s
7     Miguel Nunes (P)    Peugeot 207 S2000    +4m 57.9s
8     Corrado Fontana (I)    Peugeot 207 S2000    +5m 50.6s
9    Michal Solowow (PL)    Peugeot 207 S2000    +7m 29.9s
10    Guy Wilks (GB)    Proton Satria Neo S2000    +10m 40.8s

IRC Drivers' positions after 7 of 11 Rounds

1    Kris Meeke (GB)    34 points
2    Jan Kopecky (CZ)    29
3    Giandomenico Basso (I)    27
=    Freddy Loix (B)    27
5    Nicolas Vouilloz (F)    19
6    Juho Hanninen (F)    14
7    Sebastien Ogier (F)    10
=    Carl Tundo (EAK)    10
9    Alistair Cavanagh (GB)    8
=    Bruno Magalhaes (P)    8

Photo & Quotes: IRC

       2009 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb was won for the fourth time in a row by Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima, driving his Monster Sport SX4,
The victory was tempered as “Monster” left the Colorado race feeling somewhat frustrated at failing to beat the illusive ten minute barrier again.
      The win was convincing though as he clearly the class of the field in the Unlimited division, beating the second place team by 1:13 with his time of 10 minutes, 15.368 seconds. The Open Wheel class victory went to Paul Dallenbach in a Chevy, finishing with the time of 10:52.097. This year marks the fourth consecutive overall win for Tajima and his team.
       Monster’s Suzuki Hillclimb Special featured a steel space frame, along with carbon and Kevlar composite bodywork based on the Suzuki’s SX4 Crossover.
      The conditions were credited as the cause for the record not being broken this year with Tajima complaining of much loose gravel on the dirt sections. Later in the day the competitors were hit by sudden downpours with the accompanying thunder and lightning. This caused a few delays and left the tarmac sections of the mountain slippery and treacherous.
      Ford had a difficult time in Colorado with numerous problems throughout the week. The two-time World Rally Champion, Marcus Grönholm had seen just about everything in a rally course . . . until he came to Pikes Peak.  
     Grönholm drove his production based Ford Fiesta rallycross car, to second in the ‘Unlimited Class’ and fifth fastest time overall.  Grönholm also captured “Rookie of the Year” honours as he set a time of 11min 28.963sec up the 12.4-mile, 156-turn course which runs up the famous Pikes Peak Highway.
     Grönholm fought mechanical issues with the turbo charger on his 800-horsepower Fiesta rallycross car which resulted in a loss of power during the crucial final climb to the top.
     "I always wanted to compete at Pikes Peak,” said Grönholm.  "Having been here over the last week I have to admit that it is one of the most challenging events I have ever done in my career.  This is one of those events that you will want to tell people that you came and competed in.
     “I had heard about Pikes Peak and seen the famous film shot on the mountain with Ari Vatanen 20 years ago, but only when you come here do you realise how much of a challenge it is.

Photo: Suzuki
Quote: Ford

Travis Pastrana was handed his fourth win of the season at the New England Forest Rally Saturday by his teammate, to extend his lead in the Rally America national championship.

Subaru Rally Team USA's Pastrana entered Round 6 with a 21-point lead and said his strategy from the start was to avoid taking unnecessary risks and get his car to the finish in one piece.

The roads on this event are generally wide and fast, but strewn with massive rocks that can do big damage to competition cars.

"It's hard to know you've got that little more speed in reserve and not use it, but it's that little more that can get you," he said. "We weren't the fastest here this weekend, but I'll take the win however I can get it."

Finishing in one piece was essential because they have a short turn-around before heading across the country to compete in the X-Games.

Pastrana’s Subaru Rally Team USA teammate Ken Block set a blistering pace at the start, but spun early Saturday afternoon, losing more than 20 seconds.

Then Block had a tire puncture which prevented him from making up for lost time in the final stages of the day. So a frustrated Block had to settle for second-place overall.

"It's extremely frustrating," said Block at the finish. "I put myself in the right position to win, and it didn't work out for us."

Despite the disappointing result, Block moves into second place in the Rally America National Championship, behind teammate Pastrana.

Canadian Antoine L'Estage lost time to a power steering failure in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.  This dropped him from out of the running for a win in the event but he managed to nurse the car to a third place finish.

"It's good to taste champagne again, but I really wanted to win," said L'Estage after the ceremonial champagne spray. "I thought this morning we had a shot at it."

L'Estage is developing a new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X that was debuted by Tanner Foust earlier this season under a sharing deal.

They haven’t had much luck with the car so far, dealing with the problems that are typical with a new rally car. But he is confident that the car has potential and he's looking forward to the next round.

Bill Bacon finished in fourth place, and Art Gruszka rounded out the top five.

Roman Pakos took the Super Production class win in a Subaru STi, while John Conley and Keith Rudolph took the two-wheel drive win in their 2003 Dodge SRT-4.

Typically, attrition claimed a number of contenders including Subaru Rally Team USA's Dave Mirra, who dropped out with engine trouble on Saturday, while Andi Mancin retired after Day 1, apparently with engine issues as well.

The MaxAttack! two-wheel drive competition was furious this weekend, with more than two dozen drivers running in the class. Chris Duplessis and Catherine Woods set the fastest two-wheel drive times in their 1990 Volkswagen GTi during the weekend.

The most interesting entry was Lucy Block and Chrissie Beavis in a Volkswagen Golf. Block is married to Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block and Chrissie Beavis is a regular championship co-driver for Tanner Foust and competes in California as a driver in the regional series.

The duo swapped driving and co-driving duties over the weekend.  This was Lucy’s first ever event as a competitor.

Two of the bigger names in the Rally America Championship were missing from The New England Forest Rally.  Open class drivers Andrew "ACP" Comrie-Picard and Tanner Foust have also opted to sit this event out while they prepare for the X-Games.

The X Games contest is the biggest event on the calendar for invited teams and cars are due on the other side of the continent in just over a week.

No Doubt Pastrana, Block and L’Estage didn’t miss them.

All results are considered informational pending official race processes.

O/A Car # Class I/C Driver
1 199 O 1 Travis Pastrana 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STi
2 43 O 2 Ken Block 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STi 
3 17 O 3 Antoine L'Estage 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 
4 68 O 4 William Bacon 2006 Mitsubishi EVO IX
5 198 O 5 Arkadiusz Gruszka 2006 Mitsubishi EVO IX 
6 494 SP 1 Roman Pakos 2006 Subaru Impreza STI
7 19 SP 2 Timothy Penasack 2002 Subaru WRX
8 8 155 2WD 1 John Conley 2003 Dodge SRT-4

Quotes and Photo: Rally America

Kris Meeke took his third consecutive IRC event win by claiming victory in round five of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

"I never thought for a minute that I could be in a position to win here, so to be on the top step of the podium on such a prestigious event is a dream come true for me," said Meeke. "I think this is certainly the biggest moment of my career to date.”

The win at the IRC’s Belgium Ypres Rally has lifted the Peugeot UK driver to a six-point lead in the standings over five-time winner of the Belgium Ypres Rally, Freddy Loix, who was the winner of the Belgium Ypres Rally last year.

From the very beginning of the rally, Meeke and Loix were involved in a battle for the lead, swapping fastest stage times. Meeke won eight stages while Loix won seven over the course of the 16-stage event. Meeke edged ahead after SS12, but Loix hinted to have more speed in reserve. His chance for a win vanished on the following stage, when Loix suffered a flat tire which dropped him to fourth.

"Of course it's a shame for everyone that we had the puncture, as before it was a really great fight with Kris," Loix said. "I tried not to push my hardest all the time, because this is not the sort of rally where you can take big risks, but in the end it was a really close battle between the two of us.”

Loix battled back and eventually finished third, maintaining second place in the championship.

Skoda driver Jan Kopecky was the only other driver to challenge the two leaders and was in the top three from the very first day. The only problem that the Czech encountered was a motorcyclist who rode into him on a road section before SS10. Luckily there were no serious consequences.

After Loix's flat, Kopecky moved up into second. He maintained this position to the finish to move up to third place overall in the championship standings.

"Second place is a very good result for us, particularly as we had the accident with the motorcyclist today, which was not a nice feeling as it distracted us," Kopecky said. "Luckily everyone is OK, but it is not a nice thing to happen on a rally. I tried as best as I could, but I think this result is a real testimony to just how good our car is.”

Juho Hanninen, Kopecky's teammate, was third up until the final stage, where he also punctured a tire and dropped down to fifth. Nevertheless, the popular Finn scores his first points of the year. Hanninen's misfortune benefited local driver Pieter Tsjoen, who claimed fourth at the finish in a privately-run Peugeot 207 S2000.

The battle for sixth resulted in one of the closest finishes in the history of the IRC. Luxembourg driver Gilles Schammel, driving a Peugeot 207 S2000, finished just 0.1 seconds ahead of Dutchman Jasper van den Heuvel, at the wheel of a Mitsubishi Lancer.

Fiat-Abarth's Giandomenico Basso lost fourth place on the very final stage after picking up a puncture on the same rock that caused a problem for Hanninen. He claimed the final points in eighth place.  

The IRC 2WD Cup was won by Dutchman Marcel Piepers, who was driving a Honda Civic Type R. This gave the Frenchman the joint lead of the IRC 2WD Cup standings.

IRC RESULTS AFTER SS16, BELGIUM YPRES RALLY

1 Meeke / Nagle    Peugeot 207 S2000    2hrs 32m 16.3s
2 Kopecky / Stary    Skoda Fabia S2000    +20.4s
3 Loix / Smeets    Peugeot 207 S2000    +1m40.5s
4 Tsjoen / Chevaillier    Peugeot 207 S2000    +2m35.3s
5 Hanninen / Markkula    Skoda Fabia S2000    +3m35.1s
6 Schammel / Jamoul    Peugeot 207 S2000    +4m06.4s
7 Van den Heuvel / Kolman    Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10    +4m06.5s
8 Basso / Dotta    Abarth Grande Punto S2000    +4m 24.9s
9 Betti/ Capolongo    Peugeot 207 S2000    +5m48.3s
10 Fontana/Cassina    Peugeot 207 S2000    +6m24.5s

IRC 2WD Cup Winner: Piepers/de Wild    Honda Civic Type R R3

STANDINGS

Drivers

1 Kris Meeke    UK    30
2 Freddy Loix    B    24
3 Jan Kopecky    CZ    21     
4 Nicolas Vouilloz    F    14
5 Giandomenico Basso    I    11    
6 Sebastien Ogier    F    10
7 Carl Tundo    EAK    10
8 Alistair Cavenagh    GB    8
9 Lee Rose    EAK    6    
10 Stephane Sarrazin     F    6

Manufacturers

1 Peugeot    68
3 Ralliart    35
3 Skoda    25
4 Abarth    15

Quotes & Photo:  IRC

Sebastien Loeb must have felt a little out of place over the first day and a half of the WRC Vodafone Rally Portugal.  The five time champion is usually found at the top of the leader board but entered Saturday in third place.  By the end of the day the situation was back to what has become the norm in 2009 as Loeb will be taking a comfortable lead into Sunday, the final day of the Rally of Portugal.

The Citroen driver started the day with a 20-second morning deficit and by the end of Saturday had turned it into almost a 27second lead over Mikko Hirvonen in his Ford Focus.
 
"A very good day for me," said Loeb, "we were pushing hard all day and the feeling with the car is very good. What's important is that we have a good lead for tomorrow. Road position can play a big part tomorrow, but I'm very happy with today - I couldn't have expected better. I've tried to increase my lead as much as possible."

Hirvonen did his utmost to keep in touch with Loeb today. The BP Ford World Rally Team driver hasn’t accepted defeat yet and hopes to close the gap when Loeb starts first on Sunday,

"A gap of nearly 27sec is a lot but I won't settle for second," said Hirvonen.  "I hope Loeb will struggle with the conditions, as I did today, because I'm not counting on him having a problem.  It has been a hard day for the tires.  The roads were warm and abrasive, especially this afternoon, and perhaps I braked too aggressively because my front tires were totally worn at the end of the last stage.

"First on the road wasn't easy.  The surface was very loose this morning.  Even this afternoon when we repeated the special stages I was still sweeping a little because the cars lower down the order take different lines and so the clear path that developed was dirty again.  Tomorrow's stages are technical and hopefully there won't be any dust hanging in the air.  My only option is to attack and drive flat out," he added.

Early rally leader, Dani Sordo is now nearly a minute behind his teammate, Loeb in the second Citroen, but still maintains a comfortable margin in third over fourth-placed Petter Solberg in his privateer Citroen.

Stobart Ford’s Matthew Wilson finished the day in fifth, followed by his team-mate Henning Solberg just a slim 0.9 seconds behind.

Leading positions after day two:

Pos Driver                    Car       Time
 1.  Sebastien Loeb       Citroen  2h56m15.6s
 2.  Mikko Hirvonen        Ford      +   26.8s
 3.  Dani Sordo             Citroen   +   56.4s
 4.  Petter Solberg         Citroen   + 1m59.6s
 5.  Matthew Wilson        Ford      + 3m22.9s
 6.  Henning Solberg       Ford      + 3m23.8s
 7.  Even Novice             Citroen   + 4m59.4s
 8.  Meds Oostburg        Subaru   + 5m00.2s
 9.  Conrad Rautenbach  Citroen   + 6m50.6s
10.  Federico Villager       Ford      + 9m35.1s

Photo and Quotes Courtesy of WRC and BP Ford Rally Team

After visiting Cyprus during its previous round, the World Rally Championship heads to Portugal for the fourth event of the season. The first pure gravel rally of the 2009 season, the Vodafone Rally de Portugal was an IRC event last year, but has returned to the WRC calendar in 2009.

One of the world of rallying's classic fixtures, the Rally Portugal has been the scene of some of the most memorable moments in the history of the sport.

The Vodafone Rally de Portugal returned to the WRC in 2007 in the Algarve region in the south. The event takes place in the hills above the town blending fast, open roads with more technical sections on hard, abrasive gravel roads.

Undefeated so far in 2009 Sebastien Loeb will be looking to build on his streak. For teammate Dani Sordo, the proximity of Spain will be an additional source of motivation.

As the current WRC points leader Sebastien Loeb will be starting first on day one, he is ideally positioned to comment on the road conditions.

"The stages this year are very good," he said. "They are wider than two years ago and a little harder so hopefully, they will not be so rough. They are also quite difficult, with lots of blind crests and corners, which make it very challenging and good fun to drive," he continued. "I hope for a good fight here this weekend and that I am not at too great a disadvantage running first on the road."

The Ford team enters the Vodafone Rally de Portugal with a revised engine for their Ford Focus.

The newly-homologated power plant available to drivers Mikko Hirvonen and teammate Jari-Matti Latvala includes an electric water pump and a lightweight flywheel. The drivers have reported an improvement in engine performance from the upgrades during a comprehensive testing program

"The engine upgrades are another step forward," said Hirvonen. "Although the nature of the regulations means huge steps forward are impossible to achieve, there is more power and a bit more response and that will all help."

This event also hosts the return of former Champion, Marcus Gronholm, to WRC competition driving a Prodrive Subaru Impreza WRC2008.  This will mark 25 years of WRC competition for Prodrive.

More than 52 percent of this year’s stags are new, including two all-new stage venues. The drivers will tackle 18 stages in total with a competitive distance of 361.36 km. The rally will be based at Estadio Algarve which will host the service park.  The stadium complex is also the site of a Super Special Stage that will be run at the start of the event on Thursday and closes the rally on Sunday afternoon.

Photo and Quotes Courtesy of: WRC, Citroen Sport, Ford World Rally Team

The best rally teams in North America will be faced with a new challenge as they arrive at the 2009 Olympus Rally in Aberdeen, Washington for Round Three of the Rally America championship April 18-19.

Last year, the Olympus Rally was temporarily held in the dry eastern part of Washington State, which made for a very fast Rally.

The Rally returns to its roots in coastal Washington’s tree-lined roads around the ocean-side community of Aberdeen.  America’s finest rally drivers will take to the tight, tree-lined course mountain roads with intimidating drop-offs for round three of the Rally America Championship on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19.

"Pomeroy was a great location for the Olympus Rally in 2008, but we're glad to be back near the Olympic and Capital forests," stated Olympus Rally chairman Steve McQuaid recently.

“The springtime weather in Washington is extremely unpredictable at this time of year and everything from warm sunshine to blinding snow is certainly a possibility.”

The legendary Olympus Rally has a very rich history but is a relatively new event in the Rally America calendar, being added to the series calendar in 2007.  The Olympus Rally started in 1973 and was a stop on the World Rally Championship calendar from 1986 to 1988.

Rally racing legends including Rod Millen, Juha Kankkunen, and the American rally legend John Buffum are just some of the famous names that have taken the win at this event.

There is a tie for the lead in the Rally America point standings entering the Olympus Rally.  Surprisingly, neither is competing in the all-conquering Subarus, but in two different versions of the Mitsubishis EVO. 

NOS Energy’s Andrew Comrie-Picard in his Mitsubishi Evolution IX and Rockstar Energy’s Tanner Foust, driving a Libra Racing-built 2009 Mitsubishi Evolution X, are tied at 31 points each.

The two Subaru Rally Team USA drivers, Red Bull’s Travis Pastrana, and Monster Energy’s Ken Block have each emerged victorious in the first two races in the Rally America Championship, but find themselves tied for second place in the standings with 23 points. 

Third place in the championship is another tie, just one point back, between Andi Mancin and Bill Bacon, both behind the wheel of Mitsubishi Evos.

Matt Johnson and Dave Mirra, both driving Subaru WRX STIs will be challenged by Piotr Wiktorczyk with his Mitsubishi Evolution. They will battle it out for the win in the new Super Production class.  

As is the case with most Rally America events, expect representatives of various car manufacturers such as Subaru, Mitsubishi, Dodge, Ford, Mazda, and Volkswagen at the Rally Olympus, especially with local teams providing a strong turnout in the two-wheel drive class.

Photos and Quotes courtesy of Rally America.

Seven stages, seven victories: Such was Peugeot UK driver Kris Meeke's day at the Rally Internacional de Curitiba at the conclusion of the first day. The U.K. driver completed the nearly 10-kilometre seventh and the day’s final stage in a time of 3:55.2, creating a perfect finish to as close to a perfect day one can have in Rallying.

"It's been the perfect day for me. I've really enjoyed myself driving this car over these fantastic roads. I have to say that this is one of the best rallies I have ever driven on.” Said Meeke.

“It's amazing how when you have a good feeling with the car, everything just comes easily. The contrast with Monte Carlo could not be greater: I think Monte Carlo was the most difficult rally I have ever done. Here, I'm feeling very confident.”

The only real challenge to Meeke’s perfect streak happened during the last stage when Anton Alen in his Fiat-Abarth Grande Punto took second place only 0.3 seconds behind.

Meeke’s performance left no doubt who was leading. The real action was for second place. It was at end of the final stage of the day that factory Abarth Grande Punto driver Giandomenico Basso nipped Nicolas Vouilloz in his Peugeot Belgium 207 S2000. 

The two drivers both enjoyed a clean runs the entire day with no problems, but in the end it was Basso who overhauled the reigning IRC champion. Both are looking forward to continuing their dual on the final day of the rally tomorrow were they will start the day separated by just 0.3 seconds.

Extremely strong was delivered by Argentinean driver Alejandro Cancio driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Cancio set times that were never out of the top six and concluding the day with a third-fastest time on the final stage of the day which landed him in fourth place.

For finishing second in January's opening round of the IRC in Monte Carlo Peugeot Belgium's Freddy Loix was rewarded with the uninviting assignment of sweeping it clean for all the following competitors.

He consequently lost a lot of time sliding on loose gravel and ended in fifth place overall, 18 seconds behind Cancio.

Rounding out the point-scoring places was The Paraguayan Victor Galeano in sixth, ahead of the top two Brazilian competitors Oswaldo Scheer and Paulo Nobre in their Mitsubishis.

The hard and compacted surfaces of Brazilian gravel roads claimed their share of victims today.

Anton Alen impacted his factory Abarth Grande Punto with a rock on a first gear corner towards the end of third Special Stage, which punctured his left rear tire and also damaged a suspension joint.

Alen, who had been running in a strong second place, made emergency repairs on the side of the road.  The Finn then lost time having to drive slowly through the next stage.

Back at the service parc, his mechanics repaired the car to full health and Alen was able to return to his previous pace, setting the aforementioned time on the final stage of the day.

Marcos Ligato from Argentina was running in an admirable fifth place until SS4, when he picked up a tire puncture that he did not stop to change. Regrettably, the rubber from the flailing tire damaged the radiator of his Mitsubishi, which ended his day.

The top three places for the IRC’s 2WD Cup are all being claimed by local Brazilian drivers led Rafael Tulio in a Peugeot 206 S1600. Luis Tedesco is second, just over a minute behind in a Fiat Palio S1600. Peugeot's Marcos Tokarski is third in this fiercely contested category.

IRC RESULTS AFTER SS7, RALLY INTERNACIONAL DE CURITIBA (BRAZIL)

1 Meeke/Nagle    Peugeot 207 S2000    50m47.0s
2 Basso/Dotta    Abarth Grande Punto S2000    +48.6s
3 Vouilloz/Klinger    Peugeot 207 S2000    +48.9s
4 Cancio/Garcia    Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9    +1m03.6s
5 Loix/Smeets    Peugeot 207 S2000    +1m22.5s
6 Galeano/Fabiani    Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9    +2m31.6s
7 Scheer/Rocha    Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9    +5m36.6s
8 Nobre/Paula    Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9    +7m03.6s
9 Tulio/Valandro    Peugeot 206 S1600    +8m22.2s
10 Alen/Alanne    Abarth Grande Punto S2000    +9m32.9s

Quotes and Photo courtesy of the IRC.