Rally Portugal is investigating why two unauthorized vehicles were able to enter the second pass of Arganil on Friday afternoon once competition had started.
Elfyn Evans was the first car onto SS7 as leader of the World Rally Championship, but towards the end of the stage suddenly encountered dust ahead of him which turned out to be a tow truck on the stage.
The truck pulled over as soon as it could, but Evans and co-driver Scott Martin were clearly angry and confused over the intercom, although their stage-end interview was not broadcast.
Evans later received a notional time for the stage which rewarded him with 4.4 seconds, and the stage was cancelled for all Rally2 cars – although some of them had already started it.
Evans said: “Obviously it was a pure shock at the time. It was dust first and we didn’t know what would be causing that as first car on the road. After, I couldn’t believe it. Hopefully someone gets to the bottom of it and makes sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Evans is fifth overall on the event, despite encountering a non-competition vehicle
Asked what needed to change, the 12-time WRC winner added: “I’m not sure, I’m no expert on that type of thing. But we know that we can’t be in this situation again.”
Rally Portugal released a statement on behalf of the organizing team, which read: “The Arganil 2 stage began today at 12:30 PM, witnessed by thousands of enthusiastic spectators following the event.
“Despite the security measures being fully operational, two unauthorized vehicles entered the stage without permission. These vehicles were incorrectly identified by some media outlets as belonging to the GNR.
“This situation, the circumstances of which are currently being investigated, led to the decision being taken by the organization to interrupt the stage as the safety of everyone involved in the WRC Vodafone Rally de Portugal remains the top priority.”
