English

Yesterday afternoon, the Ford Focus WRC of René Kuipers and Erwin Berkhof was involved in a accident on the liaison between special stages 12 and 13 with a car which was not related to the WRC Rally of Portugal. Immediately after the alarm was raised in the vehicle the organization of the rally directed an ambulance and a helicopter to the location of the accident to provide medical assistance to the occupants of the car with startnumber 66.

Driver René Kuipers was transported to Faro Hospital by ambulance where he was released this morning after spending the night in hospital for observation with various bruises but otherwise unhurt. On the scene of the accident, the responsible medical staff decided to airlift Erwin Berkhof by helicopter to a Lisbon hospital where better medical facilities are available. This morning the doctor in charge in Lisbon stated that Erwin Berkhof has no serious injuries resulting from the accident and that he will be released from the hospital within the next few days and can travel back to The Netherlands