Their rally came to an abrupt halt during the Saturday afternoon loop of the Acropolis Rally in Greece after they went off the road. Although their Toyota was eventually hauled back onto the stage from the slope, the damage sustained to the car forced the pair to retire.
That marked the beginning of a long wait. Rovanperä and Halttunen were stranded around the midpoint of the stage, in a location with no nearby access roads.
Read more: Harsh fate for Kalle Rovanperä even after retirement: “It wasn’t ideal”
As a result, they had to wait for three hours under the scorching sun for a ride back to the service park in Lamia, surrounded by the Greek forest landscape. The stage remained live for nearly two more hours after their incident, leaving them with no other option.
Although the Finns had front-row seats to watch other rally cars pass by, the combination of flying dust and intense heat made the experience far from enjoyable.
“We sat there in the dust for three hours, so it wasn’t exactly ideal,” Rovanperä told RallyJournal.com after returning to the service area in the evening.
Later on Saturday evening, Halttunen posted photos of the duo’s lengthy wait. As the images show, they had to properly shield themselves from the swirling dust.
If the embed is not visible above, you can view the photos via this link
Rovanperä and Halttunen will be back in action on Sunday, with a chance to still collect some points.
“Still some points to play tomorrow! We will be back on the road.,” Halttunen wrote in the caption alongside the photos.
