French company TotalEnergies began supplying fuel to the WRC in April at the Rally Islas Canarias. Until now, there had been no problems with the fuel, but in the searing heat of Greece, it led to multiple retirements.
The biggest casualties were at M-Sport Ford, where two drivers were forced to retire due to fuel issues. Martins Sesks skipped Friday’s final stage, but Grégoire Munster paid an even heavier price. His rally came to an end on Saturday evening when M-Sport ran out of spare fuel tanks.
M-Sport team principal Richard Millener confirmed to RallyJournal.com that both Munster’s and Sesks’s retirements were due to the same issue – the fuel.
“The same issue as what Sami (Pajari) had. So I think all teams are having some kind of issue,” Millener stated.
Toyota driver Pajari also had to briefly retire from the rally, just like the M-Sport duo.
RallyJournal.com asked Millener how confident he is that the issue will be resolved before Rally Estonia, which takes place in mid-July.
“I’m certainly concerned, yes,” Millener responded briefly.
Toyota’s team principal duties at the Acropolis Rally were handled by rally legend Juha Kankkunen, who appeared more composed about the situation.
“The FIA is aware of this and I think they’ll act quite quickly. These are really big problems when all the teams are affected. But I’m sure they’ll move fast. It’s not really part of my job description, and I don’t want to get involved in the matter. That’s what our technical directors are for,” Kankkunen said with a laugh.
