Arm Injury Sidelines Riedemann From Finland

FIA JUNIOR WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP FRONTRUNNER CHRISTIAN RIEDEMANN HAS BEEN RULED OUT OF NESTE OIL RALLY FINLAND (31 JULY – 3 AUGUST) WITH AN ARM INJURY.

The 26-year-old German, who lies second in the points after two rounds, is suffering from ‘tennis elbow’ in his right arm and the strong painkillers he is taking mean it is impossible to drive.

“I am very disappointed not to be part of Rally Finland. Not to start costs us valuable points in the championship and this is all the more annoying since a good result in the JWRC is enormously important for my racing career,” said Riedemann

“But we didn’t want to take a risk. On one hand, I’m looking for a top result at my home rally at ADAC Rallye Deutschland (21 – 24 August), and on the other hand my arm has to be fully operational at the beginning of August for my master craftsman examination in metal construction,” he added.

Riedemann hopes to be back behind the wheel of his Citroen DS3 R3 for a pre-ADAC Rallye Deutschland test on 18 August.

Nine JWRC contenders will start the four-day gravel Finnish encounter on Thursday afternoon.

Championship leader Stéphane Lefebvre, who has maximum points after wins in both Portugal and Poland, has a disadvantage having never tackled the rally before.

The Frenchman holds a 22-point lead over Riedemann, with Slovakia’s Martin Koci and Briton Alastair Fisher best-placed to capitalise on the German’s absence.

Koci is just a point behind with Fisher nine points further back, and both have previous Rally Finland experience. All drivers will be in DS3 R3 cars.