Australia : Barratt / PCWRCNatalie Barratt (Subaru Impreza SpecC) seems to be pursued by bad luck. The British OMV driver hit a rock already on the first special stage on Friday and bent the tie rod of the Subaru. Thus the dream of a good place in the Production-World Rally Championship ended prematurely.
The only bright spot: Stohl-Racing was able to repair the car immediately and get it ready for Saturday.
Only momentary delight
On Thursday Natalie Barratt was annoyed about her early start at the super stage for which she was awarded a ten-second penalty. But things got worse. After only seven kilometres on special stage one on Friday the OMV driver dropped out. Barratt: It happened in a right turn. A rock lay in the middle of the road and I couldn`t evade it. When we hit it the tie rod and the transverse control arm got bent. It would have been pointless and irresponsible to go on. It would have been too much of a risk here in Australia where it`s so slippery and fast.
Subaru as good as new
Amid all this there is still a bright spot for the Brit. The mechanics of Stohl-Racing were able to repair the damage immediately and exchange the gearbox as well. Thus Natalie Barratt will be able to compete on Saturday thanks to the SupeRally regulation with a Subaru that will be as good as new. Barratt: A top result is now obviously out of the question but it is nevertheless very important to me to gather race-kilometres and I`m really feeling at home in the car.
Tags:
natalie-barrat,
omv,
australia,
subaru,
impreza,
n11,
