Heikkilä was in contention for the win at the Rally della Val D’Orcia before the final stage. The situation was extremely tight, with the top five drivers separated by just six seconds.
Competing in Toyota’s new Rally2 car, Heikkilä and his Italian co-driver Francesco Pezzoli started the final stage in second place, just 1.7 seconds behind the leader, Fabrizio Zaldivar.
Heikkilä attempted one final push, but the result was a retirement due to crashing out.
“The car started spinning when the rear wheels hit soft gravel, and I couldn’t regain control. Fortunately, we weren’t going too fast, but it’s still disappointing,” Heikkilä stated in his press release.
“The race had been good up to that point. We were really competing hard, and I tried my best to keep the others behind. It’s a pity for the Italian Rally Championship; this series is important to us as well. Apologies to the team and co-driver Francesco – they did a great job throughout the weekend,” the Finnish driver added.
Heikkilä regularly competes in the Italian Gravel Rally Championship, having won its opening event in March.
Heikkilä’s competition season continues next weekend with the Italian team Step Five Motorsport as the European Rally Championship gets underway in Hungary. In the Italian series, where Pezzoli reads the pace notes, he will be replaced by Heikkilä’s trusted co-driver Kristian Temonen, who competes with Heikkilä in ERC and WRC events.
Zaldivar eventually clinched victory at the Rally della Val D’Orcia by a narrow margin of 1.6 seconds over Simone Tempestini.
Results in the Rally della Val D’Orcia after SS9/9:
1. Fabrizio Zaldivar Skoda 47:19.5 2. Simone Tempestini Skoda +1.6 3. Tommaso Ciuffi Skoda +2.4 4. Alberto Battistolli Skoda +5.2 5. Umberto Scandola Skoda +23.1
