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Kajetanowicz and Lukyanuk to the fore on ERC Azores Rallye

Kajetan Kajetanowicz leads Alexey Lukyanuk by 12.2 seconds after the three stages of Friday morning on round four of the FIA European Rally Championship, the Azores Airlines Rallye.

Lukyanuk shot from third to first with the quickest time on the Pico Da Pedre Golfe stage that opened the day, but Kajetanowicz fought back on the Feteiras MEO test to reclaim the lead. The LOTOS Rally Team driver then won the famous Sete Cidades stage to end the morning with half a dozen seconds over his nearest rival.

Ralfs Sirmacis started the day just one second behind Kajetanowicz, but the Lavian youngster struggled for confidence and speed during the morning and has slipped to fourth. Local driver Ricardo Moura sits third - where he finished in both 2013 and 2015 - 17 seconds behind Lukyanuk and a similar gap in front of Sirmacis.

Behind the ‘big four', the battle for fifth has also been intense. Dávid Botka held the place at the start of the day, but Antonín Tlusťák and then Pedro Meireles took the place. Meireles, the 2014 Portuguese champion, holds the place ahead of his successor, José Pedro Fontes, who leapt from 10th to sixth with a great time on Sete Cidades.

Botka is seventh in front of Czech drivers Jaroslav Orsák and Tlusťák, while Miguel Barbosa - running first on the road - took 10th when Luís Rego suffered a puncture on SS7.

Joaquim Alves crashed out on SS6, and was joined in retirement on the following stage by fellow Portuguese drivers João Barros - who had sat sixth - and Diogo Salvi.

Zdroj: fiaerc.com