AICHI, Nov 11 — Spanish driver Dani Sordo and his co-driver escaped unhurt but were forced to retire from Rally Japan after their car was destroyed by a dramatic mid-race fire on Friday.
Sordo said he smelled petrol and saw fire “coming between the seats” of he and Candido Carrera’s Hyundai as they tackled the second stage of the race along a woodland road.
Sordo stopped the car and they jumped out and tried to put out the blaze with fire extinguishers, but it soon engulfed the vehicle and left them with no choice but to abandon it.
“After a few minutes it started to burn, it was coming from the rear and we tried to put it out, but it was absolutely impossible,” said the driver, who has finished on the podium three times this season.
“I’m sorry for the team — to lose a car like this, it’s a bad day.”
The stage was consequently red-flagged and the next section was cancelled.
Belgium’s Thierry Neuville and Britain’s Elfyn Evans shared the overall lead with identical times after the shortened morning session.
Newly crowned world champion Kalle Rovanpera won the opening stage but trailed Neuville and Evans by 0.7sec.
Eight-time world champion Sebastien Ogier, who won Thursday’s opening stage, was forced to change a deflated tyre on the second stage and dropped to sixth, 2min, 41.5sec off the lead.
“Our race is already over,” said Ogier. — AFP
