Travel chaos hits WRC's teams and drivers

The World Rally Championship’s top drivers and teams are still hopeful of returning home from Rally of Turkey by the middle of next week despite the travel chaos across Europe caused by the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland intensifying.

Leading teams spent the closing stages of the event trying to finalise travel arrangements for their drivers and personnel as part of what is proving to be a huge logistical operation, which is being complicated by limited air travel options and restrictions taking vehicles out of Turkey by road.

Citroen Racing director Olivier Quesnel said his mechanics and engineers will return to France in two separate coaches leaving on Sunday night and Monday morning. Ford is also arranging busses to get its team, which has more than 100 members, back to the UK. They are due to set off from Istanbul on Monday evening.

Sebastien Loeb is hoping the private jet he has chartered will still be able to fly to Italy, where he is planning to complete his journey to his home in Switzerland by road.

Mikko Hirvonen said he was investigating hiring a minibus to drive him, co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen and his support team back to Finland.

Ken Block’s return trip to the USA, where he is taking part in the launch of his Gymkhana driving event on Tuesday, will take him from Istanbul to Dubai, then onto Seoul and San Francisco.

Aaron Burkart, who won the Junior World Rally Championship section of Rally of Turkey, was contemplating driving his recce car to his native Germany.

Pirelli, the world championship’s exclusive tyre supplier, is planning to get its 20 staff and equipment back to Milan via a flight to Athens and then a ferry from Greece to Italy.

Source: MaxRally
Courtesy: Kriss