Ole Christian Veiby admitted that it was his own mistake on last weekend’s Rallye Monte Carlo that saw him retire on the final day of action.
Veiby had been battling with eventual winner Mads Østberg throughout the weekend but retired on stage 14 after smashing a wheel of the Hyundai i20 R5 while running second in the class.
The Norwegian admitted after the rally: “It was stupid really, and my mistake. That was not the ending we wanted for Rallye Monte-Carlo. On SS14 I had a little too much speed going into a corner, where it was damp, went wide, hit some rocks and knocked off the right rear wheel.”
“The rest of the weekend has been good though! We have been right there on the pace on every stage, and we felt really comfortable in the car. Such a shame with the puncture, as we were in a tight battle for victory in the WRC2.”
He continued: “We have settled in well with the new team, and even our tyre choices went well with the new tyre supplier. Both Jonas (Andersson) and I feel we have been competitive all weekend, and that is promising ahead of the next round.”
Veiby has moved up to the WRC2 class like teammate Nikolay Gryazin for 2020 from what is now the WRC3 class where last season he entered the championship in a Volkswagen Polo R5, finishing sixth in the series.
Round two of the 2020 FIA World Rally Championship, Rally Sweden, takes place between February 13-16.
