Andrea Nucita’s title campaign is back on track in the European Rally Championship’s ERC2 category, the Sicilian eading both the production class outright and also the Abarth Rally Cup order.

Loran SRL driver Nucita has led from the start after topping Zlín’s late night superspecial on Friday, putting himself on course for a vital maximum points score in both championships.

“This [last] stage was really tricky but at the end of the day I am very happy, especially for the championship. The race is not finished, again one [more] day,” he said.

One of Nucita’s main rivals, Rallytechnology’s Dariusz Poloński, had held firm in second place, less than a minute off the pace, but was halted by a transmission problem and retired.

Juan Carlos Alonso moved into second place in ERC2 as a consequence, but had to cruise through the last three stages with a broken limited-slip differential. Nucita’s team-mate and ERC2 championship leader Zelindo Melegari crashed at high speed on stage four. 

Both Melegari and co-driver Corrado Bonato were hospitalised with rib injuries and remain in intensive care to undergo continued medical treatment and assessment, though both are fully conscious and in good spirits.