Madeirenses on the lead
The trio occupying the first three positions of the general standing are also those who control the development of the action,in terms of the insular championship. Miguel Nunes has a 9 seconds advantage over Pedro Paixão, who, on his turn, holds an advantage of 1.2 seconds over Alexandre Camacho. If the leader holds a somewhat comfortable leading margin, the story changes slightly between the second and third positioned, who are anticipating an intense fight on the eight Special Stages that compose the route in the second Leg.
João Silva is fourth, but is already behind the leader by 23.1 seconds. Even further behind is Filipe Freitas, who, in a Porsche 991 GT3, is eleventh in the general standings and the fifth fastest so far, amongst local drivers. Gil Freitas, another driver with a Porsche, is 14.5 seconds behind, even though he managed,at a point during the first kilometers, to be ahead his direct adversary in the RGT group. Seventh amongst drivers in the Madeira Rally Coral Championship is Filipe Pires, who, on his turn, faces no competition in the RC2N group.
Immediately following are Vítor Sá and Rui Jorge Fernandes, who have performed quite strongly and fought intensely for a triumph in the RC3 group, in which, however, the experienced Citroën DS3 R3T driver has revealed some power. André Silva dominates the situation in the RC4 group, the same with Bruno Coelho regarding the single-brand competition amongst the small Toyota Yaris.