Finnish driver’s bad luck continues – retirement from the lead in the Rally Hungary

Heikkilä had set the fastest time on the first two special stages of the morning and was leading the rally by a ten-second margin. On the last section of the Nagylöter stage, the left front wheel came off at high speed, and the suspension also broke.

The TV broadcast did not show any significant impact, and the tire rubber was intact. The wheel spun wildly next to the car, and without it, the damage was so severe that Heikkilä had to retire. It’s possible that the wheel bolts failed or some other part suddenly came loose, causing the wheel to detach.

Heikkilä also had a tough time last year in the opening round of the ERC, which was held in Portugal at the time. The Finnish driver experienced a tire puncture on the last special stage of the Fafe rally and dropped from the lead to eighth place.

With Heikkilä’s problems, Latvian Martins Sesks moved into the lead of the Rally Hungary, setting a strong time on the last stage of the morning loop. However, the battle for victory remains fierce as Simone Tempestini is only 2.1 seconds behind Sesks.

“These 2 previous stages I was quite steady and not feeling well with the car, the 2nd stage we didn’t have the setup for, but now we changed the setup and feel good about it,” commented Sesks.

“I hope we will get to the finish with all the tyres inflated and all the wheels on the car. Let’s see the next three stages,” Tempestini added.

New Zealand’s Hayden Paddon is also still in the fight for victory. The Hyundai driver is in third place, just 5.7 seconds behind the leader.

“We don’t have the right tyres for the afternoon, we’re focussed more on the overall result. We took a couple of big hits on this stage actually,” Paddon said.

Hungary’s Miklos Csomos is currently fourth in the rally, ahead of Mathieu Franceschi and Miko Marczyk.

Three more special stages are scheduled in the Hungarian ERC round after the service break.

Standings in the Rally Hungary after SS10/13: