Martin to Miss Rally Japan
Markko Martin will miss the Rally Japan after the death of his-co driver Michael Park in last weekend's Rally GB
Park was killed during an accident on SS15 of the event, when Martin's Peugeot 307 hit a tree.
Peugeot Sport director Jean-Pierre Nicolas said on Tuesday that there was no question of Martin being able to compete in Japan.
It comes amid the backdrop of the Estonian trying to come to terms with the accident by revisiting the crash scene for the first time since the accident.
Speaking to Eurosport, Nicolas said: "Martin's presence in Japan is totally unthinkable. What's happened is still too raw.
"Markko has been affected psychologically. We're still in shock and we still can't get over what happened. We are going to have to shake ourselves out of it to turn towards the future. It's very hard.
"Markko has been to visit Michael Park's wife with Paul Turner, his manager. He also wanted to see the car and go back to the scene of the accident to try and understand what happened. He wants to know."
Peugeot would have had until yesterday to nominate its second entry for the event under normal WRC rules, but, according to Eurosport, they have applied to the FIA for an extension under these special circumstances.
WRC teams are required to run two cars at each event or be fined. It is possible, however, that the FIA would waive any penalty for Japan. The manufacturer is scheduled to leave the championship at the end of the season, and could yet pull out four events early.
If Peugeot do enter another car then Swede Daniel Carlsson, who has competed for the team in a third car on events this season could be promoted to the top two. He finished sixth on his home event with the team.
About this article
| Series | WRC |
| Drivers | Marc Marti , Scott Martin |
| Author | Tim Redmayne |
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