Cutted brake line on penultimate special stage prevented us to finish WRC Rally Sardinia 2023

11 months ago

Hi, friends!

As some of you know we drove another World Rally Championship event this weekend, 2nd WRC of the year and fourth rally event in general in 2023, and this time it was on the Italian island of Sardinia.

It was a cruel gravel with conditions I never saw in my life and I drove some gravel rallies in my career. Weather was bad in the mountains with lots of rain but, as this destroyed the roads even more, it played in our favor because there was less dust and it was just colder during the rally. Hot temperatures can destroy your concentration while you drive.

So we started good on Thursday with shakedown and with good performance on Friday. Difference between us and the crew behind waa around 17 minutes.

Saturday morning brought us a different kind of luck because we hit a hidden stone in one of the corners and bent the fork with some other parts of the front left suspension. We were able to continue but with reduced speed. We managed to come back to the service park and also keep the diatance with the guy behind us on the nice amount of time.

Second pass through the stages was much better because I knew where that stone was and kept cautius in the process. Difference between us and the guy behind was around one hour at that moment.

I was happy with our performance as nice photos were coming from everywhere. It was time for Sunday, the last day of competition. My co-driver Damir P and myself agreed to go cautius through the special stages because we needed to see the finish of the rally.

First two stages were good for us and despite being rough and full of ruts, we passed them without bigger problems. I just heard the sumpguard was moving bellow the engine and gearbox but my co-driver told me not to worry about.

We started the penultimate stage and the speed was good but still cautius because we had finish on our mind. And then, after a long straight with hard turning left, I pushed the brake pedal to reduce the speed and it felt down to the floor. I was in panic.

I downshifted into the first gear but the wall was close and we hit it with the front left. That was it. We could not move from there because left wheel was locked. That was it. The end for us. I was shocked and happy that no one was injured because you can't stop the moving car without a brakes.

Right now I am at my way to home from Sardinia and what to say - we are leaking our wounds which are just psychological. Thanks for all the support. Beside that, I met 3Speak and that bloke is really great.

Now we should repair the car and wait for another outing.
PLEASE KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED FOR US.

THANKS, HIVE!!! THANKS SO MUCH!!! ❤️