Engine trouble
halts Abbring

Abbring’s Skoda Fabia S2000 was suffering engine problems this morning and a spokesperson from the German manufacturer has confirmed the Dutchman has stopped for good on the second run through the Otates test.

Abbring’s hopes of a strong result on the Leon-based event had already been hit when he was forced out early on the opening day with fuel pressure problems.

Running in a more favourable position further back on the road, Abbring was making the most of the slightly cleaner surface by leading his celebrated team-mate Sebastien Ogier when he stopped stage six on Friday.

Ogier is now Volkswagen’s sole remaining runner on the event and has moved into a top-10 place following Chris Atkinson’s retirement earlier today.

The Frenchman remains frustrated by the altitude of the stages, which is starving the engine in his naturally aspirated Skoda, but the team is continuing to gain valuable experience of one of the longest and most arduous gravel rallies of the 2012 FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia.