Fortunately, co-driver Phil Pugh was unhurt in the crash.

Guy got out of the car unaided and immediately laid down on the ground to comfort his back, while Phil alerted the team.

A medical helicopter arrived quickly to airlift Guy to the nearby town of Oristano, from where he was transferred the short distance to the San Martino Hospital by ambulance.

An x-ray of his lower back revealed that the first and second vertebrae are fractured, although there is no compression or complications. 

Guy said: “We had a game plan to make the most of our good road position and push hard from the start.

"We arrived at an almost flat out left hand corner about seven kilometres into the stage and the pace note was wrong and we left the road at high speed.   

“It’s just one of those things and part of rallying.  Perhaps if we weren’t pushing so hard we might have got away with it, but that’s a very big might.

"Everything felt so right. The car felt good, Phil was doing a great job on the notes and there was no reason not to push. It was a wrong pace note that ultimately caught us out, and it doesn’t matter how well we were going up until then. 

“I’m very annoyed to be lying in a hospital bed and looking at a hospital ceiling, and it’s massively frustrating to be injured and not out there competing.

"It’s a missed opportunity to score a good result and take home points – I know that, and I’m sorry for the team and everyone involved in the programme.  But we’ll be back to fight another day.” 

Robert Hazelwood, Director of Skoda UK said: “We all know that these things can happen in rallying, especially when you’re pushing hard and trying to win.

"We are pleased that the car withstood such a huge impact so well and that Phil was totally uninjured. Our thoughts are very much with Guy at the moment, and we wish him a quick and full recovery.

"I’d also like to pay tribute to the Rally d'Italia-Sardegna organisers and the medical staff in Oristano, who responded quickly and looked after Guy so well.”