Both Abarths crash out at shakedown
This morning's Rally of Portugal shakedown stage claimed both Abarth Grande Punto Super 2000s after both Bernardo Sousa and Jaromir Tarabus crashed off the road - ending their event before they had even reached the start
Accidents at shakedown are not unheard of, but they rarely put a driver out of the event altogether.
Sousa was first to go, compounding the agony of what has been a shocking start to the year for the Portuguese driver. Sousa's co-driver Jorge Carvalho was initially suspected to have suffered a broken shoulder in the crash, but was released from hospital after an x-ray failed to detect any broken bones.
This is Sousa's second accident in as many starts in this year's Production Car World Rally Championship. On the opening event of the season in Norway, the former Red Bull Rally Team driver crashed at the pre-event test and then on the opening day. This time he failed to make the start.
He said: "I hit a rock in a fast right junction, this broke the steering. After that the car turned left into a wall at about 120km/h. The impact broke my HANS device. The car is destroyed. My co-driver has an injured shoulder and I have a bruised arm. It's an unbelievable start to the season. I don't know what to say."
Former FIA African Rally Champion Conrad Rautenbach also suffered damage at shakedown, breaking the front-right suspension on his Citroen C4 WRC. The Zimbabwean recovered to make a final shakedown run and was able to start the rally this afternoon without problems.
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