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Pafos, 4 November, 2011 – With a mix of surfaces, five candidates for the title and a double portion of points for grabs, the Cyprus Rally, the last event of this year's IRC Championship, had been expected to offer a dramatic spectacle even before it started. While the city prologue on Thursday just showed the fans that this rally was really likely to be exciting, Friday's four-stage programme offered a dramatic moment right at the beginning when Juho Hänninen of ŠKODA Motorsport (factory team), one of the hottest favourites for winning this year's IRC title, flew off the track to see his chance fade. Andreas Mikkelsen of ŠKODA UK Motorsport tops the standings after Day 1, followed by second-placed Al- Attiyah in a Ford and Jan Kopecký in a Fabia Super 2000 who is third. Only three drivers have remained in the game for the title after Day 1, all in Fabia Super 2000s – Mikkelsen, Kopecký and Loix.

The city prologue on Thursday was dominated by drivers of Fabia Super 2000s (Mikkelsen 1st, Hänninen 2nd , Kopecký 3rd), but it was today when the whole thing actually started. Juho Hänninen of ŠKODA Motorsport (factory team) lost his chance of winning the title in Friday's first stage after being too fast in the third bend, flying off the track, rolling the car over and getting stuck between rocks. Game over for Hänninen for today, but ŠKODA Motorsport mechanics will endeavour to repair his car for tomorrow to enable him to at least restart on Saturday under the "super rally" rules. Leader Mikkelsen also had a problem but emerged unscathed and is now the hottest favourite for winning the whole IRC series, especially because Thierry Neuville in a Peugeot had to give up. Freddy Loix in a Fabia Super 2000 who is fourth after Day 1 remains in the game, too.

Jan Kopecký: "The Cyprus Rally is tricky, and I have a new co-driver which means that we are still looking for the right rhythm. We caught up with Neuville in today's third stage - had been producing loads of dust ahead of us. We have lost some time, but the whole of tomorrow is still ahead of us, so I guess anything can happen."

Juho Hänninen: "My stupid mistake right at the beginning has cost us dearly. I drove too fast and flew off the track. We tried to get the car back onto the track, some fans came to help us, but the car was stuck between rocks. We will do our best in tomorrow's super rally. Apologies to the whole team."

Saturday's programme includes six stages (100 kilometres) after which we will know the 2011 IRC Champion in the Drivers category.

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