Tue 18 Oct 2022
Rally drivers are perpetually on the edge, any slight mistake can set the car into a spin.
It is practically unheard of for a driver to spin deliberately in the middle of a stage, but that is exactly what Peugeot’s asphalt ace Gilles Panizzi did in Spain in 2002.
Such was Panizzi’s dominance that on the final morning he chose to perform a celebratory donut. He did it in front of the huge crowds gathered at the famous Viladrau hairpin under the motorway bridge.
Ten of his forty-two-second lead was lost performing this stunt, however he still came out victorious.
Gilles had omitted to inform his co-driver, brother Hérve, what he was planning to do and thus gave him an anxious moment as the silver bullet spun 360° in a cloud of tyre smoke. The fans loved it, however.
This story is an excerpt from 'WRC 50, The Story of the World Rally Championship 1973-2022', written by Markus Stier. Purchase your copy here.
Cover Photo: © McKlein
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