Munster had a clear strategy for the demanding gravel event: drive through the stages safely and secure a solid result.
For a long time, it looked like the conservative approach would pay off. While Munster steadily trailed the leaders, he stayed out of trouble. As other drivers hit problems, the Luxembourger’s position improved.
But Munster’s rally came to an end in Saturday evening’s service. From sixth place overall, he was forced to retire due to a fuel issue. The problem was not of Munster’s making – a fault was later discovered in the fuel supplied by the WRC’s official provider, TotalEnergies.
Read more: Fuel crisis hits the WRC – “There’s something strange going on with this fuel”
Munster could have been on course for one of his best performances of the season.
“A disappointing end to our experience in Greece, but generally we had some positives to take away. Especially on Friday when there were good conditions, we pushed and managed to get a third-fastest time which shows the potential of the car,” Munster said.
“In other places we managed to be cautious, we had a long-term strategy and finished Friday in fifth and then sixth on Saturday evening, so there were a lot of positives from the weekend. It wasn’t meant to be, but we will come back stronger.”
Munster’s teammate Josh McErlean also faced trouble early on, suffering a puncture at the start of the rally. On Saturday, he hit a rock and damaged the car, but managed to avoid retirement. However, a technical issue dropped him too far from the points, and he finished 12th overall.
“I think it was a super demanding weekend for everyone; the team, the car, the crew. It’s nice to know you can get through these kinds of events – we hit a massive hurdle on Saturday morning when we clipped the rock, but we managed to fix the car and keep it going,” McErlean recapped.
“Sunday was pretty ok, and we’ve learnt a lot from a driving perspective. Hopefully we can have a good test in Finland and prepare properly for the next two rallies.”
M-Sport’s drivers are conducting tests in Finland this week. The next fast gravel rallies in the WRC will take place in Estonia and Finland.
