A violent storm with gale-force winds and heavy rain hit the Rally Paraguay service park in Encarnacion on Saturday morning, leaving several World Rally Championship teams with significant damage. M-Sport and Teo Martin Motorsport were among the worst affected, with their temporary structures mangled or blown away.
M-Sport had to dismantle their iconic blue dome tents entirely and relocate to a rented structure. Team principal Rich Millener was woken just after 5am by the deafening roar of the wind.
"It was like something out of Twister. It was incredible, so strong, at which point you know that there isn’t much left of the service park. We had to let it die down because it was too dangerous to even go outside," Millener told DirtFish. "It woke most of the team up. As expected, it all collapsed with lots of damage. We’ve had to pack up and move into one of the rented tents for the rest of the weekend."
Despite the chaos, Millener felt fortunate compared to privateer teams. "We probably got off lightly compared to some. It was very localized but incredibly powerful. Luckily, nobody was here when it struck," he added.
Conditions on the stages are actually better than in the service park, but more bad weather looms. "It can’t get any worse than this. The weather could be worse again tomorrow, so we need to be prepared. But there’s still a rally going on, so we’ll work around it," Millener said.
All cars left Saturday morning parc ferme on time, and the rally itinerary remains unaffected despite the behind-the-scenes drama.
Read Also
Hayden Paddon tidak menyalahkan Hankook atas ban bocor di WRC Paraguay, meski sempat memimpin. Ia memilih fokus pada strategi jangka panjang menghadapi cuaca buruk.
Dani Sordo dan Chris Ingram akan tampil di Rally Series putaran keempat di Portugal. Sordo sebagai wildcard, Ingram membawa penumpang. Aksi seru di aspal.
Juha Kankkunen mengaku tak ingat drama WRC sebrutal hari Jumat di Amerika Selatan. Toyota ambil langkah drastis dengan pasang snorkel hadapi hujan deras.
Continue with Google
Discussion (0)
Join the Discussion!
Sign in easily to start commenting, replying, and interacting with other readers.
Latest Comments
No comments yet. Be the first!