Barritt crashes out in Argentina (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Barritt crashes out in Argentina

11:26am Thursday 30th April 2009 in

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DANIEL Barritt and Conrad Rautenbach left South America empty-handed after crashing out of the Rally Argentina in their Citroen C4 WRC.

Barritt, from Barrowford, and his Zimbabwean-born driver were forced to sit out the final day of the rally, round five of the World Championship, after suffering irreparable damage to the roll cage.

“It was just so frustrating. We’d traced the brake problem we’d had on the opening day and things were going much better for us – and now this,” said Rautenbach.

“I was a bit spooked by the way the engine had dropped power up in Mina Clavero and Condor. We were up around 7,000 feet and when you get that high, there’s an effect on turbocharged engines.

“The engine was down on power and it was in the back of my mind that there might have been a problem.

“We clipped a rock earlier in the stage and spun, I had to drive up the stage to spin the car around and get going again.

“The car felt okay, so we carried on. Then, when I’d turned on to one of the narrow bridges on the road, the right-front wheel was sticking out more and caught the bridge, forcing it back into the arch. I was really surprised at the fact that we’d damaged the cage.”

Desperate for a points finish after their car was destroyed by fire last time out in Portugal, the pair had enjoyed an excellent first day in Argentina, forcing their way into the top 10.

“Just when things were starting to come together this morning, we get another big knock back. We need a big slice of luck now," Rautenbach added.

arritt and Rautenbach's next event will be a round of the IRC – Intercontinental Rally Challenge – the Rally Azores on May 7-9, piloting a Peugeot 207 Super 2000.