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Suárez drops back in ERC podium battle
José Suárez has slipped out of the podium places on the 42nd Rally Sierra Morena - Córdoba Patrimonio de la Humanidad.
The home hero started today’s deciding leg of the FIA European Rally Championship season opener in second position only to drop back to fourth after he was delayed completing this morning’s first stage, Cerrobejuelas.
“We didn’t know what it was exactly,” said the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver after picking up damage to his left-rear tyre and losing 39.7s. “This is part of the game, we keep pushing.”
Having elected to carry one spare wheel for this morning’s loop, Suárez will be hoping for trouble-free runs through the next two stages before he returns to service in Córdoba.
Jon Armstrong and Robert Virves were also in trouble, stopping at the eight-kilometre mark.
“At one dirty right hander I went wide, the rim broke and the damper,” Virves said.
Armstrong reported running wide, hitting “something”, which left his Ford Fiesta Rally2 with suspension damage.
Yoann Bonato was fastest through SS8 to move into second place, 29.4sec behind leader Nikolay Gryazin, who adopted a cautious approach through the stage in order to minimise the risk of damage.
More to follow…
