Osian Pryce and co-driver Dale Furniss walked away unhurt from the biggest crash of their rally careers in Poland
The duo’s campaign came to an end on the second stage of the Mikolajki-based event with their cat too badly damaged to continue.
Pryce had been awarded the Rally Poland outing for winning last year’s World Rally Championship-based Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy.
The 24-year-old from Machynlleth said: “We’d turned from a wide road onto a narrower road and with so much rain having fallen the surface was horrible, it was almost like driving through slurry – certainly under braking at times it was like ice.
“We came over a couple of crests and into a right-left-right sequence. We’d done this stage last year and I knew the place; in the dry it’s flat-out and no problem.
“But, because of the rain, I just touched the brake before the first entry and the rear of the car just stepped away. In fourth gear and on such a narrow road, there was no chance of me catching it. The rear touched the grass, that sent the front into a big rock and we started to roll.
“There were two heavy impacts in the accident and it was one or both of those that damaged the roll cage. Once the roll cage is damaged, the organisers don’t allow you to continue in the event, so that was that.
“As I stood there, looking at the car on its roof in the middle of the road I couldn’t believe it. It was like my dream had turned to a nightmare.
“The good thing is that Dale and I are OK. We’re a bit bruised and we’ll be doing a bit of work with the physio, but we’re still in one piece and we’re ready to fight again to defend our lead in the British Rally Championship next week.
“I had this opportunity and it didn’t end the way I wanted it to, but we will move onwards and upwards from this.
“That doesn’t mean to say I’m not sorry, so very sorry for the DMACK World Rally Team, Dick [Cormack, team principal] and Malcolm Wilson [M-Sport World Rally Team principal] and every single person who put their effort into making an amazing rally car for me.
“Thankfully for Dale and I, this fantastic team made a really strong car that saved us in the biggest crash of our lives.”
Rally Poland was Pryce’s first four-wheel drive event outside of Britain and the Welshman made the perfect start, posting fourth fastest at Thursday night’s spectator-pleasing loosener on the edge of Mikolajki, 150 miles north of Warsaw.
But there is little time to reflect on the set-back with the duo having
the next round of the British Rally Championship, next weekend’s Nicky Grist Stages on home soil to think about.
The good news for the Welsh pair is that they head to the Builth Wells event at the top of the British Rally Championship table.
And Pryce won’t have to wait long for his second World Rally Championship outing with the DMACK World Rally Team – he’ll be back in action in the factory Ford Fiesta R5 at Rally Finland (July 27-30).