Rali Ceredigion kicked off today, but things didn’t start smoothly for European Rally Championship (ERC) contender Andrea Mabellini. Even before the first stage, the Italian driver was hit with a major setback.
Mabellini was unable to carry out any pre-event testing because his rally car was held up at customs. To make matters worse, some of his team members were spotted on Wednesday doing what officials considered an unauthorised reccee on stage SS10/12. As a result, the stewards handed him a two-minute penalty, a punishment that could seriously affect his chances in the championship battle.
Despite this tough start, Mabellini showed his speed on the road. He set the fastest time in qualifying with 3:37.1, followed by Armstrong (+2.3 seconds) and Jürgenson (+3.0 seconds).
The rally officially began after the ceremonial start in Aberystwyth, where the first stage took place in the city streets. Mabellini once again proved his pace by winning the stage. However, the earlier penalty dropped him to the bottom of the overall standings.
At the end of Day 1, it was Marczyk who ended the day in the lead, holding an advantage of 1:15.0. Matulka followed closely behind, just +1.2 seconds off the pace, with Armstrong in third at +1.9 seconds.