Emil Lindholm was desperately close to giving MRF Tyres their first European rally win in Italy last weekend.
The Finnish driver led the Citta di Arezzo - Valtiberina Rally right up until the start of the last special stage, when his Skoda Fabia R5's engine gave up the ghost.
"Really bad luck. If I don’t make a mistake myself, then the technology breaks down," Lindholm said on his website.
He held a 15.2 second lead before the problem, wth the victory eventually going to Paolo Andreucci.
"We don’t know exactly what happened. The team stayed to investigate. Maybe we'll find out the origin of the fault later," Lindholm said.
"Annoying, especially on behalf of MRF. Their first victory in Europe was not achieved. Our tires work exceptionally well, as they did two weeks ago in Rome."
Lindholm and MRF Tyres team-mate, Craig Breen, will be back in action in the Liepāja Rally this weekend, the second round of the European Rally Championship.
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