Creighton heartbreak puts Pellier in control of Junior WRC

Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy star Creighton had managed to build up a sizeable 40.5sec advantage heading into Floda 2, but his lead quickly melted away when the bonnet of his car flew up just 200m after the start of the stage.

More than 45 seconds were lost as co-driven Regan got out to re-secure the panel, elevating Pellier to the top of the class. The Frenchman then pulled even further clear with a night-time charge, ending the day 19.7sec in front going into Sunday’s three stage finale.

Championship debutant Diego Dominguez moved into third overall at the expense of Grégoire Munster, who slipped to fourth when he leaked almost three minutes on SS12. Dominguez finds himself somewhat in no man’s land, 1min 24sec behind Pellier but 1min 18.6sec clear of Munster.

Spanish drivers Raul Hernández and Roberto Blach completed the day a distant fifth and sixth overall, while Tom Rensonnet, Hamza Anwar and Eamonn Kelly completed the leaderboard.