Miguel Nunes, at the wheel of a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, strengthens his lead in Rali da Madeira – a rally that has been underway since last Thursday – during the fifth and sixth stages. The driver now holds a 36.1-second lead over the rest of the field. Having lost that position at Chão da Lagoa, João Silva and his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 quickly regained second place and also built up a 10.2-second lead over Armindo Araújo, in another Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, who occupies the lowest step on the podium.

Miguel Caires, in a car identical to the leader’s, was on the rise and moved up to fourth place by late morning after overtaking Rúben Rodrigues, who, at the wheel of a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, is in fifth place. There were no further changes to the occupants of the remaining places in the top ten, which also includes Pedro Almeida in another Toyota, Ricardo Teodósio in a Citroën C3 Rally2, Hugo Lopes in a Hyundai i20N Rally2, Pedro Meireles in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 and Diego Ruiloba in a Citroën.

Lagging far behind, Kris Meeke failed to win just one of the timed stages in these sections with his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. The competitors are now returning to Funchal for another visit to the service park, followed by the final round through Ponta do Sol, Ponta do Pargo and Lameiros. Rali da Madeira concludes today at 7.30 pm with the prize-giving ceremony on the podium at Praça do Povo in Funchal.