Bertelli was set to drive a fourth Puma in the snow rally from 24-27 February, in what would have been his debut in the WRC’s new Rally1 hybrid machinery.
However, work commitments have forced the Italian to abandon plans a week before the event. The semi-professional rally driver works in the fashion industry and the event coincides with Milan Fashion Week.
Bertelli competed in two WRC events last year, driving an M-Sport-prepared Ford Fiesta at the Arctic Rally Finland and the Safari Rally in Kenya.
The 33-year-old has made sporadic WRC appearances since 2011, with his best result to date being an eighth place finish at Rally Mexico in 2016.
As a result, M-Sport will now field three cars for its full-time drivers Craig Breen, Gus Greensmith and Adrien Fourmaux, all three eligible for manufacturer points.
Fourmaux will compete in a new Puma, which he helped build last week, as the move from Monte Carlo to Sweden prevented the British team from rebuilding the car that crashed in last month’s season opener.
M-Sport team principal Richard Millener said it was a shame to lose Bertelli from the entry list, but was hopeful he would return at an event later this season.
“He’s had some changes of work commitments with the Milan fashion show so he won’t be there now,” Millener told Autosport.
Bertelli’s absence means M-Sport will run just three Fiestas in Sweden
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
“It will be three cars in the event. I hope he comes back in the future, but it depends a lot on his work schedule.
“It’s not a big difference for us. [running three cars instead of four]It’s a shame for us as we would have loved to see him there and having another semi-professional/private driver in the car would have been great, but sometimes that’s the way it is.”
The team began its preparations for Rally Sweden this week with a pre-event test in Sweden starting on Monday.
Source: www.autosport.com