François Delecour said he feared he would be forced to retire from the Sibiu Rally when his Munaretto Sport Peugeot 207 Super 2000 suffered a broken front-right shock absorber this morning.
Delecour started day two of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge event in a solid third place but intent on catching and passing Sepp Wiegand for second position only for the shock absorber fault to occur nearing the end of stage eight.
“It was impossible to drive the car flat out [on stage eight] and I felt it touching all the time,” said Delecour. “Then at the end we found the problem, which was worse because the temperature had gone up. We drove through the next stage really slowly apart form on the Tarmac section, just on the spring and I was sure I would have to stop. It’s really disappointing not to be third but now I must try to finish for the Romanian championship.”
Delecour’s car is currently being repaired in service in Sibiu.