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Miguel Nunes leads 2017 Tour European Rally round 3 - Rali Vinho da Madeira - after Day 1

05.08.2017

The first day of Rali Vinho da Madeira saw a great fight between the drivers of the 2017 TER – Tour European Rally.

After using the first stages to get used to the Hyundai New Generation i20 R5 which he was driving for the first time, Miguel Nunes set five consecutive fastest times to claim the overnight lead, 12 seconds ahead of Alexandre Camacho's Peugeot 208 T16.

4-time Rali Vinho da Madeira winner Giandomenico Basso swapped first place with Camacho five times in as many stages at the beginning, before losing precious seconds in the rain. He ended the first leg in third, setting fastest time in the final stage to close within 4.5” of Camacho.

2016 Tour European Rally winner and JWRC World Champion Simone Tempestini's Citroën DS3 is fourth after a long day hampered by some technical problems.

Argentinian Juan Carlos Alonso is fifth and leads the TER Production Trophy, his rivals Jim van den Heuvel and Henk Bakkenes both suffering mechanical problems.

The Škoda Fabia R5 of Stefan Göttig ends the day in sixth, ahead of four drivers battling for their respective classifications: in the TER2 Cup: Diogo Soares (Peugeot 208) is seventh ahead of Roland Stengg (Opel Adam) in ninth.

In the TER 2WD Trophy, the Citroën C2 driven by Ricardo Gonçalves is eighth and leads Paulo Moreira's Peugeot 208, closing the top ten, and the Ford Fiesta of Renato Pita.

 

The second day of Rali Vinho da Madeira, comprising 8 special stages totalling 88 kms, will start at 09:45 WEST on Saturday, August 5th, with the first car expected at the final podium in Funchal at 18:09.