M-Sport Ford World Rally Team principal Richard Millener has told Gus Greensmith to put Friday’s excursion behind him and focus on the forthcoming Monte Carlo Rally.
The Briton lost an hour of running time when he slid off the road, damaging the rear of the Ford Fiesta WRC early in his pre-event test.
Millener told DirtFish: “This is why we go testing. It’s not important. OK, it’s frustrating that he dropped that hour, it would have been good for him to be in the car and driving, but he doesn’t need to beat himself up about this – the conditions, as you can see from the onboard, were a bit of a nightmare. It happens.
“The good thing is that he got back out in the car and was running well. We wanted him to get some experience of the new tires and he’s done that, so now we’re looking ahead to next week.
“The Monte Carlo Rally is always one of the toughest and most complicated events of the season and, with the weather we’re looking at, this year’s going to be no different.”
Next week will be Greensmith’s fourth start in Gap. His best result on the season opener came when he dominated the WRC2 Pro category and celebrated his four-wheel-drive debut on the event with seventh overall aboard a Ford Fiesta R5 in 2019.
Greensmith’s M-Sport team-mate Teemu Suninen ran the test Fiesta WRC in dry conditions on Thursday.
The team has only just got its clearance to travel to France from Britain for the WRC season opener.
