OMV Kronos
Citroen's
Francois Duval has retired from the second leg of the Rallye de France-Tour de Corse while
en-route to the final service of the day.
Duval, who had been running fourth, despite having lost quite a bit of time in the final two stages due to alternators problems, was forced out on the liaison section back to Ajaccio when his car stopped.
"On the way from the finish of the last special stage to the service the Citroen Xsara WRC of Francois Duval broke down due to a broken generator which made it impossible for the Belgian to reach the service park on his own," confirmed a statement from the team.
Speaking
prior to his problems on the road section, Duval conceded he was just trying to make it back to his mechanics.
"I had to switch from wheel-gear-change to manual gear change in SS11 - and the brakes didn't work correctly either. In the end I just wanted to make it across the finish line," he confirmed.
Whether or not he will be able to rejoin the fold on Sunday under the SupeRally format has yet to be confirmed. If he does he will drop way back – picking up a 10 minute penalty - and will re-start from around 12th position overall, more than six minutes off Skoda privateer Jan Kopecky, who is eighth and on course for the final drivers' point.
