Kopecký is an 11-time winner of his home round of the FIA European Rally Championship and was 0.7sec behind leader Domink Stříteský starting SS5, Bunč. But 9.1 kilometres from the start of the 18.04km test, Kopecký was in a trouble with a deflated front-left tyre.
“I was concentrating for the last stage, we had a good pace but there was something in the line and I hit it, there was straight away a puncture and I had to change it,” the 2013 ERC champion said. “Our change was quite slow I would say, we should train a bit more with this.”
Llarena, who claimed ERC title gold in 2022, was 0.4sec behind Simon Wagner after four stages and was intent and moving up the order when he went off the road at the 12.8-kilometre mark.
“I tried to be as fast as possible,” the Spanish driver said. “We were in the fight for the podium but in the last stage, it was a crazy stage and in one corner full of mud I was a little bit too fast and I spin and went in to the ditch and lost around 25 seconds.”
It’s not been a trouble-free day for leader Stříteský. Following a brake issue on SS2, the Czech championship pacesetter picked up a slow front-left puncture on SS5. But there were no problems on SS6, which the Hankook-equipped driver completed with a lead of 8.7sec ahead of Erik Cais.
Cais, who is being saddled with a 20-second time penalty, was fastest on stages three, four and five aboard his Michelin-shod Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 to cut Stříteský’s advantage to 10.1sec. And he edged closer to his countryman with another fastest run on SS6, albeit in a time matched by erstwhile leader Adam Březík.
Březík is 27.5sec off first place after an off-road moment on SS4, which he completed with a deflated front-right tyre. The Kresta Racing driver suffered further delay with a spin on SS5.
“The first stage everything was good, on the next one I was a little bit careful and we lose some time but on the third one, everything was going well until we had the puncture,” Březík said. “I hit something in the grass, I don’t know what but after I go out of the road. Then I was too fast on the brakes in a left corner [on SS5] so I have to turn more and I spin. I am fighting for the top so we have to push at the maximum level.”
Březík is fourth after six stages, 7.9sec behind Simon Wagner with Mathieu Franceschi and Filip Mareš rounding out the top six.
Hubert Kowalczyk leads FIA ERC3 in a Renault Clio Rally3 after six stages with Peugeot 208 Rally4 driver Patrik Herczig on top in the delayed FIA ERC4 category after SS4. Filip Kohn leads the ERC Fiesta Rally3 Trophy following SS6.
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