rpm.espn.com: Skoda team member hurt in accident

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Saturday, May 5
Skoda team member hurt in accident
Reuters

CORDOBA, Argentina – Ford driver Colin McRae held a comfortable 37.1-second lead over fellow Briton Richard Burns at the end of the second leg on the Rally of Argentina on Saturday.

But it was a day marred by a serious injury to a member of Skoda's management team.

McRae and Burns shared wins on each of the day's seven stages but the leg was dominated by an accident at the end of the 11th 'Amboy 1' stage.

Engineering Director Dr. Jens Pohlmann, the second-in-command of the Czech team's Motorsport program, was struck when a speeding firetruck overturned after answering a call to deal with a blaze involving several spectator cars.

The firetruck rolled on to the Skodas of drivers Armin Schwarz and Bruno Thiry, who were waiting in a queue at the time control near the Calmuchita service area.

Pohlmann was airlifted by helicopter to a nearby hospital in Cordoba after suffering broken ribs, pelvis and head injuries. He remained in a stable condition at the end of the leg. A roadside barbecue is thought to have started the initial blaze.

Both Schwarz, the top German driver, and teammate Thiry escaped unhurt following the accident. The pair were pulled out of the event by the Skoda team.

Only 15 cars completed the next run due to the high volume of spectators on the stage and the 13th run was delayed by half-an-hour due to the same problem as safety concerns arose once again in the championship.

Leader McRae, who held an advantage of 41.4 seconds overnight, extended his lead as he won two of the first four stages of the day before Burns clawed some time back on the later runs.

Paid dividends
McRae showed no ill-effects of driving first on each stage and admitted that his decision to choose harder tires on the abrasive Argentine gravel had paid dividends.

"Everything is going to plan," McRae said. "The roads were like concrete and the tires were well-suited to the conditions.

"I thought our times would be close to Richard's because he's normally quick on these stages. It's been hard work but the hard work isn't over.

"We had a good lead but any lead is good as long as you're at the front. I don't need to push harder for the remainder of the rally unless Richard puts on the pressure."

Second-placed Burns, who like McRae had struggled in the opening four rounds of this year's series, said that he would keep up the pressure on Sunday's final leg in his quest for his first win since November.

Burns said: "I think it's unlikely that I'll be able to win by just taking time off Colin, but past experience shows that I don't give up. I cannot do anything but to keep the pressure up."

Spaniard Carlos Sainz remained in a distant third position, more than a minute adrift of Ford team mate McRae despite being plagued by a back injury.

Championship leader Tommi Makinen dropped down to fifth position after his Mitsubishi lost rear-wheel drive on the ninth 'Santa Rosa de Calamuchita 1' run.

Frenchman Didier Auriol, the winner of the previous round in Spain, lost more than four minutes when a snapped throttle cable and turbocharger problems hampered his progress in his Peugeot in successive stages. He ended the leg well off the pace in ninth spot.

The remaining drivers face a further 118.5 kilometres of competitive stages before the winner is crowned in Cordoba's football stadium on Sunday.

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	Rally of Argentina leading times (15 stages) McRae dominates opening leg of Argentina rally