Sebastien Loeb leads the 57th Azores Rallye after winning, in the first round, Feteiras and Sete Cidades, the two special stages that opened the programme of the Grupo Desportivo Comercial organisation that is on the road today and tomorrow. Andreas Mikkelsen is in second place, also in a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, who is 8,3 seconds behind the leader. Also on the provisional podium is the Norwegian Ole Christian Veiby, 15.9 seconds from the front in a Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo.
Further back and separated by 2.9 seconds are the Spaniard Nil Solans, the Azorean Ricardo Moura and the Czech Erik Cais. Closing the top ten are the usual top drivers of the Azores Rally Championship, Pedro Câmara in Citroën C3 Rally2, Luis Miguel Rego and Rúben Rodrigues, both in Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, and Bruno Amaral, with the usual Ford Fiesta R5. The 1st leg’s programme includes a new passage through the already completed special stages and the performance in Grupo Marques.