Monte-Carlo exit devastates Ireland´s Barry

Daniel Barry says his retirement from Rallye Monte-Carlo last week has left him feeling “devastated”.

Barry, who was competing in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge for the first time since RACMSA Rally of Scotland last October, crashed out of the event on the snow-hit eighth stage. His Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer ended up at the foot of a steep bank.

“I did all I could to keep the car on the road when the back end broke away, but it was not enough,” said Barry, who was using a combination of winter and intermediate tyres. “I’m devastated, but you have to make decisions based on the information you have at the time, and I agreed that intermediate tyres were the right choice when we left service.

“We had made up some time on the previous stage, so I was thinking that if I could just keep up that pace and do the same again it would put us in a strong position for the final day.”

Irishman Barry and co-driver Adrian Deasy had been fighting back from the delay they suffered on the event’s second stage when they lost time with a powersteering pump failure. They were ninth in the IRC Production Cup and 40th overall when they retired.

Barry has yet to finalise his plans for the remainder of the 2011 season.