Championship contender Giandomenico Basso has crashed out of the 2009 Barum Czech Rally Zlin. Although he and co-driver Mitia Dotta are unharmed the stage has been stopped.
Abarth team leader Basso, winner three weeks ago on the Rali Vinho Madeira, had survived one off-road moment on the previous stage to log the ninth fastest time. Despite surviving that incident to start SS8, Basso came to grief when he lost control of his Grande Punto S2000 on the second run of the day through the Kudlovice stage.
With the skies darkening over Zlin and rainfall becoming more persistent, the conditions for the crews are growing ever-more challenging. The forecast deluge has well and truly arrived, and the majority of the crews left service with two spare wet weather tyres aboard.
1 Kopecky (CZ) – Skoda – 1hr 19m 1.5s
2 Loix (B) – Peugeot – +22.6s
3 Hanninen (FIN) – Skoda – +1m 4.9s
4 Meeke (UK) – Peugeot – +1m 5.8s
5 Kresta (CZ) – Peugeot – +1m 22.1s
6 Novikov (RUS) – Skoda – +1m 30.7s
7 Prokop (CZ) – Peugeot – +1m 38.7s
8 Pech (CZ) – Ralliart – +2m 9.9s
ANthony Peacock - photo IRC
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