Despite the torrential rain during the ceremonial start, the surface at the super-special stage dried out quickly, and this made the crews show the best of themselves.
Mustafa Cakal and Mehmet Koleoglu (GP Garage My Team, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) finished first among the foreign teams and recorded the 5th time in the overall standings. They are slower from leaders with 8.8 seconds. After Cakal and Koleoglu finished the champions in last year Bulgarian Rally Championship Tihomir Stratiev and Dobrin Borisov (Marina Motorsport, Peugeot 208 R2). The gap with the leaders Angelov and Sivov is 9 seconds.
In the top 10 of the overall standings are Hristo Atanasov / Marin Ivanov (Bultrans Rally Team, Citroen C2) at 10.1 sec., Kiril Todorov / Georgi Avramov (Astra Racing, Renault Clio RS) at 10.5 sec., Anton Titov / Dinko Georgiev (Megaport Racing, Citroen DS3 R3T) at 12,4 sec. and Chandor Shabo / Markus André (Sonic Motorsport, Ford Fiesta R2) at 12,7 seconds.
An excellent impression was left by both women's crew. The Bulgarians Diana Stoyanova and Ivanela Ivanova finished 15th in the general standings, while the Romanians Cristiana Oprea / Diana Hategan scored the 33rd time.
Ranking after SSS1 "Sliven":
1. M. Angelov - N. Sivov BGR Skoda Fabia R5 2: 37.0 m.
2. G. Grigorov - P. Sivov BGR Peugeot 208 R2 + 1.9 s.
3. Y. Atanasov - Y. Yanakiev BGR Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX + 4.4 s.
4. K. Benchev - A. Spirov BGR Subaru Impreza N14 + 5.6 s.
5. M. Cakal - M. Koleoglu TUR Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX + 8.8 s.
6. T. Stratiev - D. Borisov BGR Peugeot 208 R2 + 9.0 s.
7. H. Atanasov - M. Ivanov BGR Citroen C2 + 10.1 s.
8. K. Todorov - G. Avramov BGR Renault Clio RS + 10.5 s.
9. A. Titov - D. Georgiev BGR Citroen DS3 R3T + 12.4 s.
10. Ch. Shabo - M. Androiul ROU / GER Ford Fiesta R2 + 12.7 s.
TUR
BGR
BGR
SRB