Hungary enjoys the first CER stage
The first stage of the Central Europe Rally started in Budapest and was enjoyed by a huge Hungarian audience. Thousands of people saw the contestants leave from the start podium in the capital’s historic Hero’s Square.
The first stage ran from Budapest to Baia Mare in Romania. In contrast to yesterday, clear blue skies accompanied the contestants from the start to the test in Dabas, 60km southeast of Budapest. The wonderful weather ensured excellent results for almost everyone.
There were virtually no slip-ups at the top of the standings. A tumble by Volkswagen driver Mark Miller, fortunately without any injuries, was the only real mishap. Otherwise everyone performed well, which meant that Mitsubishi had little opportunity to distinguish itself.
This has produced an exciting standing for the cars, as the times are still very close together, but a significant amount of jockeying for position is still expected at the top.
Carlos Sainz in the Volkswagen was first to cross the line in the test and he posted a time of 39’56 sec. The first Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution, with Stephane Peterhansel behind the wheel, came in fourth - 1 minute behind the leader. Luc Alphand was 7th, and finished 2’21” behind. The new diesel-engined MPR14 of Hiroshi Masuoka finished in 10th place, nearly 3 minutes adrift.
Unfortunately, Masuoka was not available for comment, but we will try again tomorrow. The enticing test on the programme will give him a good idea of what the MPR14 can do.
