Here's The Terrifying Moment A WRC Car Barrel Rolled Into A Lake

Ott Tänak and his co-driver Raigo Molder were lucky to escape unhurt following a crash at Rally Guanajuato Mexico on Friday. Front-right suspension damage caused the Estonian driver’s Ford Fiesta RS to plunge off road, roll over and land in a lake.

Tänak and his co-driver were both able to escape the car before it was submerged, but - as it was deep underwater and there was very little phone signal - WRC officials and his M-Sport team were clueless about the crash for 20 minutes.

Explaining the accident, Tänak said:

“I braked too hard into a compression which damaged the front-right suspension. We couldn’t steer the car around the next left-hand corner and went off the edge of the road. The drop was so steep that we rolled into the water.

“Luckily the car landed on its wheels but the water was so deep that the car sank really fast. As soon as we opened the doors the car was gone in just a few seconds. I also had a problem with my intercom wire because it didn’t come loose and was dragging me under the water. We were really lucky. It was not a nice moment to have.

“After that there was no chance to contact the team. The radio was gone and there was very little phone signal where we were. No one back at the team knew what had happened to us for almost 20 minutes and that – as you can imagine – was a big concern for everyone back in the service park.”