WRC – Ostberg thought about abandoning Wales Rally GB

Mads Ostberg occupies a very good fourth place at Wales Rally GB ahead of Mikko Hirvonen, the Citroën WRT factory driver. The Norwegian had a lead of more than 32 seconds over the Finn before entering the final stage of the Welsh event, but his hopes of a good result were almost dashed when a mechanical problem was detected at the level of the engine at the start of the first Port Talbot special.

The Adapta WRT driver was able to complete the first pass of the stages by maintaining a lead of 23 seconds over Mikko Hirvonen at the cost of an unrestrained attack. The Norwegian, however, almost gave up, not knowing what his Fiesta RS was like. WRC was suffering. “We were thinking of stopping because I was already having trouble finishing the first stage”, recognizes the Ford driver on wrc.com. “We were in communication with the team but the connection was poor and I didn't know if they wanted me to stop or not. We continued with a lot of pain on the hills while the engine made a really worrying noise. The team knows where the problem comes from and we think we can repair the car at the service. I think it's a fuel pressure problem but I'm not sure. We will keep the tires for the Power Stage. »

The crews only have 41,5km left to decide between them. The second passage of the Port Talbot special will be contested from 13:07 p.m. Paris time.