Ypres Rally 2014

[Dennisvo]

Hij start!

[Mevo]

FIAERC: Abbring 8:00.8 in SS1, fastest so far, with some damage on the front wing  #FIAERC

FIAERC: .@KevinAbbring first leader of the #FIAERC @gekoypresrally so far, after 5 cars in the SS1 #FIAERC

[kraats]

Wow Kevin....!!!!
KP 1 Dikkebus. Breen lek (31.4 sec) maar Kevin wint 5.2sec op loix en 5.3 op Lappi.
Cherain komt er nog even tussen zitten op 4.9 sec op Kevin.

[Mevo]

FIAERC: Kobus 8:24.3 in SS1 #FIAERC

9e tijd tot nu toe voor Hermen

[Escort Piet]

waar zien jullie de tijden?
ik zit op results van de Ypres site maar zie Loïx niet staan

[Mevo]

http://www.fiaerc.com/events/live/id/20

En weer KEVIN!

FIAERC: Abbring 12:25.6 inSS2: «We had a lot of fun, I tried to push a little bit more without risks. The race is long, anything can happen» #FIAERC

[Mevo]

Rossetti is flying! Oke, dan gaat KEVIN er 0,1 sec onderdoor

FIAERC: Abbring 4:14.7 in SS3, fastest so far: « This stage I played with the brakes, but we have a good feeling, it was a clean run » #FIAERC

[Dennisvo]

En pakt nu 3,9seconde op Loix op SS3!!

[Mevo]

FIAERC: After SS3, @KevinAbbring leads, Loix +11.5, Rossetti +13.6 #FIAERC

[Dennisvo]

Rossetti(P2) lek en gestopt, verliest bijna 4 minuten.
Abbring rijdt na KP5 ook weer op KP6 een scratch, gat met Loix nu 21,7

"Really nice, I really love it. The car is doing what I want it to do. I find a really fantastic rhythm. It is hard to be efficient and brake at the right time all of the time, but I think it is part of this rally."

[kraats]

ERC Geko Ypres Rally day one report: Abbring heads Ypres master Loix on action-packed counter
Kevin Abbring will start day two of the Geko Ypres Rally on course for his maiden victory in the FIA European Rally Championship after he outgunned local hero and eight-time winner Freddy Loix during an action-packed opening day in Belgium.

The Peugeot Rally Academy driver powered his 208T16 to six stage wins out of seven and holds a lead of 24.8s at the overnight halt in Ypres as a result. However, with 190 kilometres of special stages remaining, Abbring’s tenure of top spot is far from secure despite a dominant performance by the rapid Dutchman and his British co-driver Seb Marshall.

“I am impressed by the pace and the feeling with the car is great,” said the 25-year-old. “We have a great rhythm and the car is really reliable on the limit.”

Loix had narrowed Abbring’s lead to 11.0s with his first stage win on the fourth test but a spin on the following run after service, Dikkebus, cost him vital time and he dropped back behind Luca Rossetti to third. However, a puncture for the Italian on stage six wrecked the three-time European champion’s chances as Loix reclaimed second place. Rossetti is currently 14th and 4m13.4s behind Abbring and one place adrift of ERC Ladies’ Trophy leader Melissa Debackere.

ERC title leader Esapekka Lappi, who is making his Ypres debut this week, elected to run first on the road in his ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000 and is 14.3s behind the similar car of Loix. Cédric Cherain is a strong fourth in his Ford Fiesta R5 with Sepp Wiegand demoting Hermen Kobus for fifth on Friday’s final stage. The Dutchman reported being momentarily blinded by low-lying sun and almost crashed into a post by the side of the road. Robert Consani had been in sixth but retired at the end of stage six after his Peugeot 207 Super 2000 caught fire.

Craig Breen is seventh overnight and almost two minutes off the pace after a frustrating day in the second Peugeot Rally Academy 208. The Irishman was set to battle for his second ERC victory of 2014 in Ypres but a front-right puncture on the first stage proved costly in more ways than one when the flailing rubber damaged a brake line on his 208T16. With three stages to go until service, Breen dropped more than 90 seconds to the leaders. Despite repairs, he admitted to struggling for form as brake balance woes caused the talented Irishman confidence issues during the evening.

Davy Vanneste is eighth overnight with Neil Simpson ninth in his ex-Loix Fabia and former Super 2000 world champion Xevi Pons 10th. Andy Lefevere fought back from a puncture on stage three to top the ERC Production Car Category ahead of András Hadik with young Belgian driver Kevin Demaerschalk at the head of the ERC 2WD field in his Peugeot 208 R2 with ERC Junior contenders Guillaume Dilley and Andrea Crugnola first and second.

Bernd Casier’s pursuit of an elusive podium finish in Ypres will continue after the Belgian damaged his Fiesta R5’s suspension crashing out on the opening stage. Bruno Magalhães was expected to fight for a strong result in Ypres but was unable to start when an engine problem developed during pre-event testing on Wednesday evening.

Pieter Tsjoen also endured a troubled start to the rally when his 208T16 momentarily caught fire after the engine failed during his second run of Free Practice on Thursday evening. After his mechanics worked through the night carrying out repairs he started with a five-minute penalty and has spent much of the opening leg adapting to the 208, which he’s using in competition for the first time. An electrical fault and a stage-six puncture have hit Jaroslav Orsák’s hopes in his self-run Fabia, while an off on stage three cost Antonín Tlusťák vital time. Reported fuel pump problems have slowed Vincent Verschueren, who is giving Citroën’s DS3 R5 its ERC debut.

Serious competition ahead in ERC Junior as Dilley leads
There will be some serious competition ahead in the FIA ERC Junior Championship with Guillaume Dilley leading Andrea Crugnola by 7.9s starting day two. Aleks Zawada is third with Marijan Griebel overcoming an early puncture to hold fourth. Stéphane Lefebvre had been in front by 38.5s starting stage six but an off one kilometre into the test left him with a front-right puncture and dropped him to fifth place and more than one minute off first. Gino Bux has kept out of trouble to hold sixth spot but it’s been a frustrating day for championship leader Jan Černý, who has been far from happy with his performance behind the wheel of his Peugeot 208 R2. Stephen Wright, Fabio Andolfi and Florin Tincescu complete the top 10 with Alex Parpottas surviving a roll to hold 11th, one place ahead of fellow Briton Chris Ingram, whose Renault Twingo has been on one-wheel-drive mode all day. Mattias Olsson slipped out of contention in a ditch on stage one, while Petter Kristiansen was delayed in a ditch on the final corner of stage four.

What’s next?
Saturday’s route consists of 13 stages over a competitive distance of 190.02 kilometres. The action begins at 10:48hrs local time with a return to the famous Reninge stage for the first time in 25 years. The finish is schedule for 22:15hrs local time.

[Whitey]

"Lappi off road, Loix and Abbring had to stop !"

[rvgrally]

Omdat lappi crashte. Hebben loix en abbering moeten stoppen in de stage ze krijgen een normtijd. Geen paniek tot dusver.

[Whitey]

Official: Stage Vleteren-Krombeke 1 has been neutralised
Esapekka Lappi Rally ‏
OFF the road on SS9. Drivers are OK.

[Whitey]

Freddy Loix,
"I'm catching up a bit, trying to find the good rhythm
Kevin Abbring,
Breaking points a bit to early, i have to update my pace notes