Luca Betti believed his Barum Czech Rally Zlín challenge was over before it had began when he crashed on his first run during Friday’s shakedown.
The Italian inflicted extensive damage to his Peugeot 207 Super 2000 after rolling on the practice course.
However, a heroic effort by his Kimera Motorsport team ensured Betti and co-driver Maurizio Barone were able to take the start of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge qualifier in Zlín last night.
“Immediately I thought I was going home,” said Betti. “But then I looked at the car and realised that with a lot of work it would not be so bad. The mechanics were very strong to fix it – they were even using hammers to repair the roof.”
Betti said his crash was “unexpected” but insisted his focus was now on completing the 15-stage asphalt rally with the best possible result.
“Nothing is perfect with the car, the handling especially, but we will just try to do our best,” said Betti. “We had a problem with the seat on the superspecial, that was not fun, but it will be okay.”