Indeed, Duval's hopes of leaving New Zealand on a high were dashed when he too crashed off into retirement. Like Latvala, Duval was having a fine rally – his first on gravel since Greece last year – and was looking set for a certain fifth place. However, a single mistake proved costly and left Duval in a ditch and out of the points.
“It was a second gear corner near the end of stage 17 and we caught a little bit of loose gravel and slid off the road. The car was not damaged but it became stuck and we were unable to get it out of the ditch. We were taking no risks on this stage so it was unlucky that our rally ended this way.
“We were starting to set some good times and my feeling was getting better each day after such a long time out of a WRC car on gravel. The next event for me is Spain and I am looking forward to getting back on asphalt again.”
Furthermore,
Matthew Wilson, team principal for both the Abu Dhabi and
Stobart teams, admits he was surprised to see Duval crash off, particularly as his lead over
Petter Solberg in sixth meant he didn't need to take risks.
“It has been an unfortunate end to what was looking to be another strong event for the Stobart team. François' off was a huge disappointment after what has been a really strong drive considering his long break from gravel and I'm really surprised he went off after not putting a foot wrong all rally.”
