ERC
Březík zooming in on Zlín ERC glory with three stages left
Adam Březík is three stages away from winning in the FIA European Rally Championship for the first time after he completed Sunday morning leading Barum Czech Rally Zlín by 21.2sec.
The local star began leg two 9.7sec in front but increased his margin to 19.6sec when he went fastest on the legendary Pindula and Semetín stages aboard his Hankook-supplied Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.
Březík then underlined his event-winning potential with a hat-trick of stage wins on Kateřinice – albeit by a scant 0.5sec – to reach the midday service halt in Otrokovice as very much the driver to beat.
“Twenty-two seconds is quite good for the last loop,” Kresta Racing-run Březík said. “It’s very tough, lots of rough places and stones, so we have to be careful with punctures. Everyone knows Barum so everything can happen.”
Miko Marczyk
© ERC
Behind Březík, the battle for the podium has raged all morning. A charging run from Pirelli-equipped Teemu Suninen on Pindula secured second place for the European championship leader at Miko Marczyk’s expense, before reigning ERC champion Marczyk responded on Semetín to reclaim second in his Michelin-shod Fabia, despite a fast-paced moment.
However, Suninen was able to reverse the positions again on Kateřinice, which he completed 0.5sec ahead of Marczyk.
Teemu Suninen
© ERC
Lancia Corse HF’s Andrea Mabellini completed SS10 in fourth place, 3.3sec behind Marczyk following a trip through a ditch on Semetín, with Jakub Matulka, Simone Tempestini (Team MRF Tyres) and Filip Mareš next up.
After going third quickest on Pindula to take fifth from Matulka, a damaged right-rear tyre nearing the finish of Semetín resulted in Mareš dropping back behind his Polish rival. Mareš then lost more time with a high-speed spin on Kateřinice, which left his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 with rear-end damage and relegated the Czech to seventh.
Andrea Mabellini
© ERC
Simon Wagner, Václav Pech and Jaromír Tarabus round out the top 10, while Roberto Blach remains on course for a points finish after a spin on a right-hand corner 9.5 kilometres into Semetín delayed the Llarena Racing driver.
Gábor Német and FIA ERC3 contenders Ville Vatanen, Lucas Zielinski and Petr Kačírek complete the leading 15 positions with Zielinski just 5.6sec behind Vatanen in the battle for victory in the Rally3 category.
Tom Heindrichs has maintained his overnight lead in the Hankook-supported FIA Junior ERC category for the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team. The Belgian is 19.5sec ahead of team-mate Timo Schulz. Meanwhile, wins on SS8 and SS10 have helped Karl Peder Nordstrand cement third place in the young driver category.
Erik Cais started out on Sunday seventh in the overall order, but a reported turbo issue caused significant delay on SS8 and ultimately forced him to retire in service.
Erik Cais
© ERC
The repeat of the legendary Pindula stage is next from 13:24 local time with Semetín 2 and the Kateřinice Power Stage following at 14:32 and 16:05 respectively. The finish is scheduled for 17:30 in Zlín’s main square.
Watch the action live on Rally.TV and follow all the news, stage times and results via the Live Centre.
