A fire broke out on Sordo’s i20 N during Stage 2 (Isegami’s Tunnel) which forced the experienced Spaniard to stop the car 16.1km into the stage.
Sordo and co-driver Candido Carrera quickly escaped the vehicle before it became engulfed by flames. The pair attempted to extinguish the fire but the blaze became too severe, which resulted in WRC officials to red flag the stage.
The fire was eventually put out after burning for an hour and 10 minutes, leaving the car gutted and destroyed.
The cause of the fire remains unclear, although Sordo reported a strong smell of petrol inside the cockpit prior to the incident.
According to Moncet, it is unclear if the team will be able to find a cause due to the severity of the fire that has left scant remains of the i20 N to investigate.
He was able to clarify that the fire wasn’t triggered in similar fashion to the blaze that Oliver Solberg suffered following a spin at Rally Croatia.
"We have no data and there is nothing left of the car. We may have some hypothesis but to find out which one is the right one I’m not sure," said Moncet.
"It is not the same as what happened to Solberg’s car. He spun and damaged the exhaust and pushed the exhaust inside the car.
“This is clearly a different issue, a fuel issue or something else burning it is not clear. I could be wrong but I doubt we will ever find out [the cause].
“I was not surprised [by the severity of the fire].
“We know these cars are mostly carbon cars, except the roll cage and the space frame, the rest is full composite, and you have fuel tanks almost full as it was a stage early in the morning and the big battery, so I think when you put all this together once it [the fire] starts it is very difficult to stop it.”
Although disappointed to lose an entire car, Moncet confirmed the team had planned to retire this chassis at the end of the year and replace it with a brand new car for next year’s season opener in Monte Carlo in January.
“If I want to take some positive out it we are in Japan for the last race of the season and we were not planning to use this car in the future because we will start a fresh in Monte Carlo,” he added.
“It is a bummer don’t get me wrong but it could have been worse if you have back-to-back rallies as we would not have been in a position to build another one.
“Now we have to focus on Monte Carlo and this doesn’t change our assembly or workshop plans. It is a shame that it is a lot of resources and money that has gone up in flames.”
