Stobart Ford's
Gigi Galli has said that while it was 'very disappointing' for him to have to withdraw from the Rally of Turkey last weekend, in the end he had no option but to pull out.
Galli had been running in the top-three for the majority of the first two days in his Focus RS WRC07 before losing time with a turbo boost failure on Saturday afternoon and slipping back to eighth position.
The Italian had hoped to try to salvage a point on the final day, but after requiring medical attention in the final service, under advice from the team's doctor, he did not take in Sunday's final three stages due to exhaustion and dehydration caused by the intense heat and demanding conditions.
"Galli has been advised to rest and re-hydrate for the safety of his own personal health," confirmed the team.
Galli was less than pleased to go into the summer break on 'a down', but he can at least console himself with the fact set some excellent times on the eighth round in the World Rally Championship, winning three stages.
He also scored points in five of the eight events in the first half of the year, including taking a podium place in Sweden.
"It is a very disappointing end to a tough event that we started really well on," he reflected. "The first day was fantastic for me and we managed the performance well and found a good compromise between preserving the tyres and keeping a fast speed.
"Indeed we would have been leading for the whole day without the time penalty. But the days were long and hard and I was totally exhausted on Saturday evening and needed some treatment from the doctor for dehydration. I didn't feel any better on Sunday - and it wasn't possible nor safe for me to continue."
"It's been a disappointing end to the rally for Gigi," added M-Sport/Ford team boss Malcolm Wilson, "and its just shows how tough and physically demanding this sport is."
