The Ford M-Sport driver suffered a major crash during a closed-road test session Wednesday morning near Gap.
The Irishman made a mistake during a morning training session on a closed road near Gap (Hautes-Alpes). The Irishman struck a bridge which sent him into the embankment. The car therefore rolled down a slope of several meters to end up at the bottom of a ravine. Immediately the news broke: “ The pilot and his co-pilot are doing well. They will be able to take part in the Monte-Carlo Rally tests. “
First footage of Craig Breen’s crash this morning
Credit : TZRallyeVideos on YouTube pic.twitter.com/OqhUz7msPs
— Raphaël Gy. 🇫🇷 (@RaphSimple) January 12, 2022
=> Entries, schedules, route … Everything about the Rallye Monte-Carlo 2022
Ford M-Sport team manager Richard Millener gave further explanation at the Dirtfish specialist site :
“We’re working hard to get the car back on the road right now – it’s gone down pretty low. From what the guys there told me, we are looking to fix the car and test it again. I think it’s fair to say we won’t be racing today.
It’s sad. Craig paid a heavy price for what appears to be a small mistake. He hit a wall and damaged a wheel. In another day we would have spotted the bend and we could have resumed the race. The road and the embankment were actually going down a steep slope and once the car started to roll it went to the bottom. Ultimately, the initial impact was in a very slow speed turn. “
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He also spoke with his pilot who said he was going pretty well in view of the accident:
“He’s disappointed and frustrated that he’s missing the rest of his test day. On the bright side, Craig spent a lot of time testing the car and I don’t think that has an impact on its potential in rallying.
These things happen. It’s tough, it’s the first time he’s crashed in 13 years, but you have to get these things out of your mind and keep going. That’s what he’s going to do. When you do a test with four pilots there is always a risk for something like this. Adrien [Fourmaux] had a good day Tuesday. Now we focus on the rest of the week. ”
The goal for the moment is to restore the car in a limited time. She is currently being evacuated from the ravine with a winch. If all goes well, Gus Greensmith will take the wheel on Thursday and Sébastien Loeb on Sunday. In the meantime, all team members will travel to Salzburg on Saturday for the start of the WRC season in Red Bull’s hangar-7, ahead of the Monte-Carlo Rally on Sunday.
To read on auto-moto.com:
The entrants to the Monte-Carlo 2022 rally
WRC 2022 calendar: rally dates and times
Sébastien Ogier: records as striking as those of Loeb?
Rallye Monte-Carlo 2021: 50th WRC victory for Sébastien Ogier! (live, rankings)
The Ford M-Sport driver suffered a major crash during a closed-road test session Wednesday morning near Gap.
The Irishman made a mistake during a morning training session on a closed road near Gap (Hautes-Alpes). The Irishman struck a bridge which sent him into the embankment. The car therefore rolled down a slope of several meters to end up at the bottom of a ravine. Immediately the news broke: “ The pilot and his co-pilot are doing well. They will be able to take part in the Monte-Carlo Rally tests. “
First footage of Craig Breen’s crash this morning
Credit : TZRallyeVideos on YouTube pic.twitter.com/OqhUz7msPs
— Raphaël Gy. 🇫🇷 (@RaphSimple) January 12, 2022
=> Entries, schedules, route … Everything about the Rallye Monte-Carlo 2022
Ford M-Sport team manager Richard Millener gave further explanation at the Dirtfish specialist site :
“We’re working hard to get the car back on the road right now – it’s gone down pretty low. From what the guys there told me, we are looking to fix the car and test it again. I think it’s fair to say we won’t be racing today.
It’s sad. Craig paid a heavy price for what appears to be a small mistake. He hit a wall and damaged a wheel. In another day we would have spotted the bend and we could have resumed the race. The road and the embankment were actually going down a steep slope and once the car started to roll it went to the bottom. Ultimately, the initial impact was in a very slow speed turn. “
=> Why Sébastien Loeb is coming back to rally at Ford?
=> Ten things you didn’t know about Rallye Monte-Carlo
=> You know that you are a fan of Monte-Carlo when …
He also spoke with his pilot who said he was going pretty well in view of the accident:
“He’s disappointed and frustrated that he’s missing the rest of his test day. On the bright side, Craig spent a lot of time testing the car and I don’t think that has an impact on its potential in rallying.
These things happen. It’s tough, it’s the first time he’s crashed in 13 years, but you have to get these things out of your mind and keep going. That’s what he’s going to do. When you do a test with four pilots there is always a risk for something like this. Adrien [Fourmaux] had a good day Tuesday. Now we focus on the rest of the week. ”
The goal for the moment is to restore the car in a limited time. She is currently being evacuated from the ravine with a winch. If all goes well, Gus Greensmith will take the wheel on Thursday and Sébastien Loeb on Sunday. In the meantime, all team members will travel to Salzburg on Saturday for the start of the WRC season in Red Bull’s hangar-7, ahead of the Monte-Carlo Rally on Sunday.
To read on auto-moto.com:
The entrants to the Monte-Carlo 2022 rally
WRC 2022 calendar: rally dates and times
Sébastien Ogier: records as striking as those of Loeb?
Rallye Monte-Carlo 2021: 50th WRC victory for Sébastien Ogier! (live, rankings)
