Originally Posted by
Crash.net
Citroen team boss, Guy Frequelin has branded some of the actions taken by the spectators on the Rally Mexico on Friday 'stupid and irresponsible', after rocks were purposely placed on the road in front of the competing cars and thrown at them while at speed.
Speaking at the end of the opening leg, after both of his drivers', Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Sordo were affected by the incidents, Frequelin added that such acts are completely unacceptable.
"The incidents that affected several drivers were inadmissible," he confirmed. "Rallying comes with enough inherent risks as it is and we can well do without such stupid, irresponsible acts."
Loeb meanwhile was equally damning and while the rock that was thrown at his car on SS2, the 29.66 kilometre Ortega test, did not cost him any time and he ended the day in the lead, it did damage the windscreen, albeit on the co-drivers side.
"There was a problem when a stone was thrown at the windscreen by a spectator [in the second stage of the day]," he added. "It's just a shame. That's such a stupid thing to do."
Sordo was also affected - however, he was slowed on the repeat run through Ortega, as SS5, when rocks, which he felt were 'intentionally placed in the road', damaged the steering on his Citroen C4 and broke a wheel rim.
The 'works' Citroen drivers were not the only ones to be targeted either. Indeed Production World Rally Championship competitors, Mark Higgins and Andreas Aigner also reported similar incidents.
"The car is tracking out now at the right rear wheel because I hit a large stone in stage five - it was impossible to avoid. The spectators are a problem, there are big stones in the road and we had a stone thrown at my co-driver's window," said Higgins at the end of the day, after ending it tenth overall and first in the PWRC category.
Aigner, who was actually forced out after hitting a rock in SS3, which damaged his engine, felt foul play was definitely to blame.
"Suddenly, in a blind corner, two large rocks were lying on the road. I didn't stand a chance," he recounted. "This would never happen under normal circumstances. I guess that some spectators had a hand in it because earlier some other drivers already had rocks thrown at their windscreens."
How isolated these incidents were is unclear and while it has to be pointed out that a number of drivers did not have such problems - or at least didn't mention them - it definitely isn't good news for the organisers of the Rally Mexico. Indeed with Mexico having been left off the provisional calendar for 2008, it doesn't bode especially well for 2009 and regaining a slot in the schedule...
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