Gryazin penalized, Ostberg inherits victory

Already lively, the penultimate round of theERC experienced a final twist a few hours after the end. Fast and very strong, the Russian Nikolay Gryazin thought he had won his 2^e event in this competition in 2021. The panel of commissioners decided otherwise. Based on a video made by spectators, the driver was criticized for not having stopped in SS8 at the scene of the exit of the Skoda Fabia Rally2 of Hungarian Norbert Herczig (SS8). According to the authorities, article 53.3.2 of the Sporting Regulations for FIA Regional Rallies was not respected. It states that “ Any crew to whom the red “SOS” sign is shown or who sees a car which has suffered an accident must immediately and without exception stop to render assistance, unless the indication “OK” is displayed. » In the images, the behavior of the people on site or that of Herczig can be interpreted in several ways. The commissioners decided that Gryazin was asked to stop. The latter not having done so, he was penalized 15 minutes. This sanction plunges him to 24^e rank. Second at the end of the event after being slowed down by an exit and a puncture, the Norwegian Mads Ostberg was therefore named winner on the green carpet.