The incident began when Toyota driver Elfyn Evans briefly drove off the road into a field, loosening the ropes holding an inflatable advertising arch.
The advertising arch eventually fell onto the road. For some reason, the special stage was not stopped before Tänak arrived at full speed.
A spectator’s video captured Tänak driving straight into the advertising banner. Fortunately, the Estonian was able to stop his Hyundai safely on the road. Tänak’s incident was never shown on the television broadcast.
Watch the spectator’s video of the situation below.
After Tänak’s incident, red flags were temporarily put up on the special stage. The stage continued once Tänak and his co-driver Martin Järveoja had removed the advertising fabric tangled in Hyundai’s wheels.
At the stage finish, Tänak was furious.
“This describes exactly how safe we are in terms of race control. They were probably having nice meal and good wine,” Tänak said sarcastically.
“Well done race control, you are really taking care of us. We are ok but f**** hell, you could see the road was blocked and you keep it running. Hopefully, it was a good wine.”
The International Automobile Federation (FIA) has announced that they will be conducting a thorough investigation into Tänak’s case. According to Motorsport.com, Tänak met with FIA representatives during the weekend to discuss the incident.
During this meeting, Tänak admitted that his comments at the end of the stage were not in the best interest of the sport. In a statement, Tänak apologised for his remarks directed at the race control but welcomed the investigation into the incident.
