The local pairing of William Creighton and Liam Regan have been taken to hospital after crashing heavily towards the opening loop of special stages on the Barum Czech Rally Zlin.
Their Citroen C3 Rally2 was involved in an accident during the 11.27-miles of ‘Bunc’ – a stretch of Tarmac considered to be the most demanding of the entire weekend by crews.
Starting on the outskirts of Rostin, and finishing close to Salas, the ‘Bunc’ test weaves up through a well-known mountain pass in the Chřiby Forest popular for hiking and cycling.
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Following the accident, the stage was stopped and medical crews were sent to the scene with Creighton – making his debut at the European Rally Championship fixture – taken to hospital by ambulance to the T. Bata Regional Hospital in Zlin for precautionary checks.
Regan, meanwhile, had to be “extricated” from the Citroen according to a statement from event organisers, and airlifted to the same hospital in a “conscious but stable condition”.
It has since been confirmed that Creighton – a former Junior British Rally, British Rally and Junior World Rally Champion – is “okay”, while Regan is currently receiving “further medical assessment having sustained a non-life-threatening injury” in the accident this morning.
Now in its 55th year, Barum Czech Rally Zlin is the fifth round of a seven-round campaign Creighton and Regan are contesting with backing from their sponsors and the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy.
In the build-up to the iconic event, Creighton was confident that his experience of competing on Irish tarmac could return a season-best result in the land-locked country as the roads there bear close similarities to those at home.