Guanajuato: Citroen Total Abu Dhabi’s Mads Ostberg damaged his suspension and ran out of time in the second day of Rally Mexico, the third round of this season’s FIA World Rally Championship.
Ostberg had been second after day one, 26 seconds behind leader Sebastien Ogier. However, on day two the Norwegian hit a bank just 200 metres from the end of the opening stage.
It was only after passing the stop control that the crew noticed that part of the suspension was broken. Despite their attempts to repair the damage before the next stage, Ostberg ran out of time. They will only be allowed to rejoin on day three of the rally.
“I was pushing on the first stage,” said Ostberg. “Shortly before the finish, there was a quick section ahead of a braking point for a right-hand bend. My pace notes weren’t right. I didn’t brake hard enough, so we carried too much speed and hit a bank on the outside of the corner as we exited it. We managed to finish the stage but the suspension was too damaged to be able to continue. We worked as hard as possible to carry out repairs but we just didn’t have enough time to make it to the start of the next stage.”
Citroen Racing’s team principal Yves Matton said: “Mads’ strategy was to drive at a strong pace in order to consolidate his second position. Unfortunately, an ill-judged pace note means his name has been added to the long list of drivers caught out at this Rally Mexico. Although he tried to repair the damage, he was unable to continue. He will rejoin tomorrow to prepare for the next round of the WRC in Portugal.”
