Breaking news
WRC Rally Australia
Errant tractor sparked Mikkelsen crash
Hyundai team manager Alain Penasse has confirmed a tractor being driven down the stage was partly to blame for Andreas Mikkelsen’s Rally Australia crash.
David Evans
Edited: Nov 16, 2018, 2:11 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The Norwegian’s i20 Coupe WRC slid into a ditch on a fast right-hander shortly after passing a tractor which was being driven down the road in the Sherwood test.
The tractor had been working on a chicane, pushing a straw bale back into place after Jari-Matti Latvala’s Toyota collided with the third-stage obstacle, moving the bale out of position.
Penasse told Motorsport.com: “They (Mikkelsen and co-driver Anders Jaeger) were distracted and they were talking, saying to each other: “Is the stage cancelled? Is the stage safe? What do we do?” And then one kilometre further down the road they crashed.
“For sure this distracted them.
“Maybe they should have slowed down and got their heads right and then go. But it’s clear this should not happen.
“The marshals on site decided, with three minutes [between the cars], to take the tractor into the stage, move the chicane and then come out of the stage – we are told by rally control they decide to do this themselves on the spot."
Read Also:
Penasse discussed the matter with the organisers, but was angry at the consequences for Mikkelsen and his team.
“We are still playing in the manufacturers’ title and now we have only two cars,” he said. “Andreas’s split time was -5.3 and this was his stage. He always performs well on this stage. OK, what can we do?”
Mikkelsen’s car suffered damage to the engine in the impact and it remains to be seen if he will return under Rally 2 regulations for the weekend’s Coffs coast action.
“The engineers have been to look at the car,” said Penasse, “the water went out, so we have to wait and see.”
Rally Australia sporting director Adrian Stafford issued the following statement: “In SS3, at 15.70 km, a chicane constructed with hay bales was struck by Car 7, resulting in the stage being partially blocked by the hay bales.
“A tractor was parked nearby - off the stage - and without authority from the organisers, the driver moved onto the stage and repositioned the hay bales.
“After the tractor driver repaired the chicane he started to move on the side of the track after the chicane just as Car 4 drove through the chicane. The tractor was partially on the road as Car 4 went past. There was no contact between Car 4 and the tractor.
“Car 4 travelled approximately 1.20km further along the stage then struck a culvert on the inside of a fast left hand bend, before stopping a short distance later with damage to the car.
“The organisers have taken control of the tractor to ensure no further intervention.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Australia WRC: Ostberg leads, Tanak best title contender
Next article Australia WRC: Ostberg retains lead, drama for Neuville
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
David Evans
How the much-missed Richard Burns scaled the WRC mountain
WRC
WRC
How the much-missed Richard Burns scaled the WRC mountain
M-Sport pins hopes on major mid-2020 engine upgrade
WRC
WRC
M-Sport pins hopes on major mid-2020 engine upgrade
Hanninen to co-drive for Latvala in Sweden
WRC
WRC
Rally Sweden
Hanninen to co-drive for Latvala in Sweden
More from
Andreas Mikkelsen
Hyundai yet to make 2025 WRC third driver call as Fourmaux rumours swirl
WRC
WRC
Central Europe Rally
Hyundai yet to make 2025 WRC third driver call as Fourmaux rumours swirl
Mikkelsen: Why I chose Hyundai over M-Sport for WRC 2024 comeback
WRC
WRC
Mikkelsen: Why I chose Hyundai over M-Sport for WRC 2024 comeback
How being a target for young drivers spurred Mikkelsen back to WRC
WRC
WRC
Rally Japan
How being a target for young drivers spurred Mikkelsen back to WRC
More from
Hyundai Motorsport
Josh McErlean to test 2027-spec M-Sport WRC car at ERC finale
WRC
WRC
Josh McErlean to test 2027-spec M-Sport WRC car at ERC finale
Adrien Fourmaux confident of WRC drive despite 2027 uncertainty
WRC
WRC
Adrien Fourmaux confident of WRC drive despite 2027 uncertainty
Latest news
Carson Hocevar says Zane Smith feud is "pretty one-sided"
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
1 h
Carson Hocevar says Zane Smith feud is "pretty one-sided"
Jack Miller says Australian GP cancellation “tough to swallow”: “It is pissing me off”
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
1 h
Jack Miller says Australian GP cancellation “tough to swallow”: “It is pissing me off”
Max Verstappen reacts to COTA boss: "He can drive my car, after five laps he won't be able to walk"
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
1 h
Max Verstappen reacts to COTA boss: "He can drive my car, after five laps he won't be able to walk"
Sammy Smith just pulled off a rare Talladega feat not seen in over twenty years
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Talladega II
2 h
Sammy Smith just pulled off a rare Talladega feat not seen in over twenty years
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe