Early in the stage, the rear corner of their Hyundai hit a sandbank, breaking the rear tyre and suspension, forcing them to withdraw. At the time of the retirement, they were running fourth in the WRC2 class.
The Finnish duo’s rally was overshadowed by sad news as co-driver Hämäläinen’s mother had passed away on Friday morning.
“Such news was a shock and devastating. On behalf of myself, our family, and our team, condolences to Reeta and her family. She held up incredibly well and did a great job under difficult circumstances,” Lindholm said.
Lindholm and the Hyundai Motorsport N team decided on Saturday evening that they would not continue the rally the next day.
“Under these circumstances, we did not see it sensible to continue the rally. Our thoughts are elsewhere,” Lindholm reminded.
