Zoom Second IRC victory in a row for Rossetti

At the wheel of a Peugeot 207 Super 2000 as reliable as it is competitive, Luca Rossetti has clinched his second victory of the IRC season. His win in Portugal today follows his success in Istanbul last month. The Italian's rally went perfectly, allowing him to build on his championship lead.

Rossetti ends the 42nd edition of Rally Portugal with a 45.8-second advantage on runner-up Jan Kopecky. Nicolas Vouilloz, after puncturing a tyre during SS10, steps onto the third and final step of the Portuguese podium but ends his race 1:37.8 away from victory.

Two drivers fought quite a duel for overall fourth place on this final day of the rally. Despite incessant attacks, Juho Hanninen was not able to match the determined pace of Giandomenico Basso, who gained one position against his rival during the very last stage with an advantage of 2. 5 seconds only.

Bruno Magalhaes and Manfred Stohl took sixth and seventh positions respectively, while Miguel Campos claimed eighth place of the general standings.

On this final stage, Andreas Aigner accomplished his first and only stage win of Rally Portugal.

The Intercontinental Rally Challenge rivals will meet again in Belgium at the end of June.

Daniel BASTIEN
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