ELFYN Evans was forced to pull out of the third round of this year’s FIA World Rally Championship after a high-speed roll on Rally Mexico meant that co-driver Daniel Barritt had to be taken to hospital.

The Gwynedd ace had made a strong start to the event, and they were sitting in a podium position, just 15 seconds adrift of the leaders, after the third speed test.

As the crews made their way to the first pass of Ortega (SS4), however, the luckless Brits were caught out by a series of compressions. Thrown sideways, they lost the rear and rolled the M-Sport Fiesta.

The pairing checked in with the medical team on their return to service, where Barritt was advised not to continue. Both driver and co-driver were deemed to be okay, but safety remained paramount and the decision was taken to ensure they get the necessary rest before the next event.

“We hit a series of bumps that were a lot worse than expected,” said Evans, from Dinas Mawddwy.“We lost the rear - still in sixth gear - and we didn’t have the power to pull out of the slide. We clipped the bank on the inside and rolled I don’t know how many times.

“I jumped out of the car immediately because I didn’t think there would be any way to continue. But when the dust settled we could see that the damage wasn’t too bad at all. We got our helmets back on and we managed to finish the stage – which is incredible after a roll like that.

“We checked in with the medical team when we returned to service, and Dan was advised to go for further precautionary checks. We’re both okay, which is the main thing, and now we just need to focus on starting our season afresh in Corsica.”

Team Principal, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said: “Elfyn and Dan were looking really strong before they suffered that high-speed roll that put them out of the rally.

“Considering the speed of the accident the small amount of damage was really remarkable, but they suffered a massive impact, which Dan took the brunt of.

“After medical checks, it was discovered that he had some mild concussion and in those circumstances the safety of the crew has to come first. The most important thing now is to ensure that they are both match fit for Rally Corsica.”

There was celebration for the M-Sport team, however, as Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia secured the EcoBoost Ford Fiesta WRC’s second victory of the year

The Frenchman surged from fifth place to first in intense heat on Saturday, before easing through Sunday’s final leg in mountains near León to win the dirt road encounter by 1 min 13.6 secs in the Fiesta.

Kris Meeke, winner 12 months ago, was on course for second, before tipping his Citroën C3 onto its side in Sunday’s first speed test. His error allowed Dani Sordo to claim second in a Hyundai i20, with Meeke a further 15.6 secs back in third.