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ERC Azores Airlines Rallye entry list: Quality field led by 27 R5 cars

An impressive entry list has been revealed for next week's Azores Airlines Rallye, with a huge 27-strong R5 field to take part in the fourth round of the FIA European Rally Championship.

Defending champion and points leader Kajetan Kajetanowicz is the #1 seed, chasing his first win of the season against the drivers that were victorious in Gran Canaria and Greece respectively, Alexey Lukyanuk and Ralfs Sirmacis. Robert Consani, Raul Jeets, Jarosław Kołtun, Dávid Botka, Tomasz Kasperczyk, Antonín Tlusťák and Giacomo Costenaro will also all make the trip to São Miguel island for the 2-4 June event

Jaroslav Órsak returns after nearly a year away in a brand new Ford Fiesta R5, a model that will also be used for promising Norwegian Frank Tore Larsen's ERC debut.

Thirteen Portuguese drivers will drive R5 cars, including national champion José Pedro Fontes (Citroën DS3), his predecessor Pedro Meireles (ŠKODA Fabia) and two-time ERC Azores podium finisher Ricardo Moura (Fiesta). Fernando Peres, a seven-time winner of the event, returns in a Fiesta R5 after eight years away.

The Azores Airlines Rallye is the second round of the ERC Junior season, with a 10-car entry including points leader Łukasz Pieniążek and the factory Opel trio of Marijan Griebel, Julius Tannert and 2015 class winner Chris Ingram. Diogo Gago returns to the series, joining Marco Cid in flying the Portuguese flag, while Finn Joonas Tokee makes his debut.

Four Portuguese drivers - Paulo Neto, Gil Antunes, Renato Pita and José Monteiro - will join the Juniors in fighting for ERC3 honours. In ERC2, Wojciech Chuchała looks to build on his points lead with competition from Argentina's Juan Carlos Alonso.

Zdroj: fiaerc.com