RALLY: Radstrom retires on final leg of Rally New Zealand

19 July 1999

Ford Martini World Rally Team pairing Thomas Radstrom and Fred Gallagher saw their hopes of a fourth place finish on the Rally New Zealand ended on the opening special stage of todays final leg. Their Ford Focus World Rally Car slid off the road during the muddy test, the longest of this ninth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, and although it was undamaged, they could not rejoin the track and retired.

It was a disappointing end for the 33-year-old Swedish driver and his Ulster co-driver, who performed superbly to fight their way back up the leaderboard - setting three fastest times - after a heavy accident on the opening leg.

"The stage used the same route as the opening test on Friday so it was very muddy and quite badly cut-up," said Radstrom. "We had completed about 20km when we approached a very slow right-hand bend. We slid a little wide and the car just slipped off the edge on the inside and became stuck. We were right on the side of the road but the nose was buried into the soft earth and we just couldnt push the car back on again. Its very frustrating."

For Ford Martini team director Malcolm Wilson, the rally was one of mixed emotions - pleasure that both Colin McRae, who led the rally during the first leg before retiring, and Radstrom had again emphasised the competitiveness of the Ford Focus and disappointment that the Swede retired when fourth place appeared to be his.

"Weve posted six fastest times during the rally and thats a really positive aspect to take back home with us because weve taken another step in the right direction with the development of the car. On the other hand its a big disappointment for the whole team to lose Thomas today. We worked so hard to repair the car after his big accident and he drove so well yesterday and that just adds to the frustration," he said.

News from our Rivals

Aside from Radstroms retirement, there were no changes to the leaderboard, the large time gaps between drivers encouraging them to settle with their overnight order. Tommi Mkinen (Mitsubishi) posted fastest time on the days first three stages before throttling back with victory assured. The winning margin was 1min 37.0sec. Juha Kankkunen (Subaru) and Toni Gardemeister (Seat) completed a clean-sweep of the podium places for Finland. It was a particularly impressive drive from 24-year-old Gardemeister who was competing on his first world championship event in a World Rally Car.

Next round

The FIA World Rally Championship returns to Europe for round 10, the drivers heading to Scandinavia for the Rally Finland on 20 - 22 August. The rally is one of the fastest in the championship, the smooth flowing forest roads and huge jumps providing a superb spectacle.

"The roads in Finland are similar in nature to those here in New Zealand and I see no reason why we cannot be just as competitive there. No Briton has won the rally and its a burning ambition of mine and of Colins to set the record straight," said Wilson.

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