M-Sport Ford’s Team Principal has hit out at so-called ‘keyboard warriors’ following the retirement of their two Puma Rally1 cars on the same Friday morning stage at Secto Rally Finland.
For the second consecutive World Rally Championship round, Ott Tanak – a three-time winner of the ‘Gravel Grand Prix’ – had to contend with engine problems. The Estonian confirmed the issue stemmed from an impact during the stage that damaged the sump guard on the underside of the car and contributed to a loss of oil.
The former World Champion managed to make it safely out of the stage – albeit via an access road and using the car’s onboard battery – before he attempted fruitless roadside repairs with co-driver Martin Jarveoja.
‘Lankamaa’ was a double whammy for M-Sport Ford as Tanak’s team-mate Pierre Louis Loubet also retired his Puma Rally1. Around a mile into the test, the Frenchman – who conceded he was “maybe carrying a bit too much speed” – ran wide into a tree positioned near the edge of a bank and ripped the rear-left wheel off.
There is, however, the expectation that he will return on Saturday under Super Rally rules if there is no underlying damage to the car’s chassis or safety cage.
Millener said the setbacks were scant reward for all the effort his colleagues had invested in the build-up to the ninth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, and felt it unfair how quickly some people had taken to social media to criticise the team.
“It’s really tricky, disappointing even. Obviously there has been some fair criticism against us and some unfair criticism against us so far this year but this one is tricky for us all again,” he said.
“I have seen some good comments on the internet already, so it is nice of people, but all I would say is that the people who write these comments need to remember there are 50 people working very, very hard to do this. It is very easy to type the old keyboards but just remember about the other people.”
He added: “We would love to see Pierre carry on, especially with what has happened with Ott, but yeah, pretty challenging at the moment for us all. Our guys have been out here for three weeks, they have not got home since Estonia, so for them to put all this effort in and for us to be where we are, it is just really sad for everyone.”
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