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Strasbourg, 2 October, 2011 – Red Bull ŠKODA's rallying performances in the last-but-one event of this season's SWRC were over-shadowed by a serious accident when the Fabia Super 2000 driven by Gassner & Wüstenhagen crashed into a tree in Stage 9. While Gassner came off without injury, Kathi Wüstenhagen has ended up with pelvis and a rib fractures.

Gassner & Wüstenhagen made a promising start on Friday. They were third after the first two stages but then dropped down the standings to sixth due to a brake problem. Championship leader Hänninen saw his chance of securing the title before the last event already on Friday when he lost precious time due to a tyre defect after being in the lead until that point. Things got even worse for him on Day 2, specifically in Stage 12 when he had a crash and had to give up. In line with the championship rules, he was allowed to continue on Sunday but had no chance of taking part in the fight for the top ranks. Tänak won the Rally de France comfortably, Hänninen came fifth. Hänninen leads the championship with 108 points, ahead of Tänak with 105. The season's last event is Rally Spain (October 21-23).

Juho Hänninen: "Our ambitions for this rally were quite different. Anyway, I wish to thank the whole team for repairing the car to give me a chance of winning at least some important points. The tie will be broken in Spain, and that is exactly where we have to show that we deserve the title."

Hermann Gassner: "What should I say? I am very sorry about what happened, and I wish Kathi a fast recovery."

Raimund Baumschlager: "We've had a bad weekend indeed. Accidents like this happen in rallying, but it hits you much harder when you are personally involved. The most important thing now is Kathi's fast recovery. Juho has to be fully focused on Spain – the battle for the title is still in his hands. And his run of bad luck must end one day – I hope it will be soon enough.

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