A LUCKY EXCAPE ......

IOANNIS STEFANIS

I was driving in the world championship rally in Monte Carlo. I was in first position and my Ford Focus WRC was working perfectly.

Suddenly, my co-driver warned me about a corner, so I had to swerve suddenly, something that I didn’t do. As a result, the car skidded on the ice, and finally ran into a tree.

After having asked my co-driver if he was okay, I reversed and the car reached the road again. Unfortunately it was a bit damaged, but I had to finish the race so I kept on speeding. After ten minutes, the fog was so thick I couldn’t see the speedway clearly enough. Apart from that, the road was very slippery. I could hardly take the turns, but I was still going above the speed limit. All at once, my rally car ran over a stone and it overturned. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had taken the wrong road.

Three hours later, my co-driver and I finished the rally, but without our car. After overturning, my car’s engine had broken down, so we reached the end of the speedway on foot.

I was exhausted and cold, so the first thing they brought me was a hot cup of tea. I was sad about the destruction of my car and for having lost the first position. Just then something happened that changed my disposition: the manager of my team told me that because of the weather conditions the race had been cancelled, so I was still in first position!

After having thought about that day many times, I believe that it was the strangest day of my life.