Under surveillance, the Rally of Japan may not go to the end!

After the very delicate day experienced yesterday in Japan, this second stage run during the night from Friday to Saturday in France was calmer. There was still an improbable event, or at least one that should never happen in the world championships. While Craig Breen was on the starting line of SS13, it was suspended for more than half an hour. Held in the heart of the town of Okasaki, this 1,4 km superspecial had to be completed twice consecutively (SS13/14). The route was very close to a watercourse and even if the level was very low, the presence of divers was preferable...except that they were not there.

While all the crews came out of their cockpits to get some fresh air and chat, the wait began. It ended with the arrival of the truck carrying the frogmen and the clock could finally be started. The fears of the drivers who had seen the opening cars evolve were confirmed. Very quickly, dust invaded the bed of the river, depriving the enormous crowd who had made the trip of a spectacle. “ We were told that the stage would be wet, told Sébastien Ogier by equipping yourself. They must have forgotten... »

The accumulated delay required the cancellation of the 2^e passage, which was particularly unfair for people who had paid for their tickets. These two new addicts did not have the same consequences as Friday, but this further contributes to tarnishing the image of this event whose amateurism is surprising and will quickly have to be corrected. In the afternoon, a decision from the Stewards was sent to the organizer, to the competitors, to the FIA ​​safety delegate WRC, the FIA ​​Rally Director and the FIA ​​Closed Roads Commission.

Reprieve for the organizers…

After yesterday's incidents, the stewards summoned and heard the Race Director, on behalf of the organizer, and they judged that an offense had been committed. They consider that there was: a negligence on the part of the organizer to take reasonable measures in the implementation of the safety plan which had been approved, thus resulting in a dangerous situation and a violation of Article 12.2.1 of the International sporting code.

Several decisions were taken following this infraction. The organizer is formally required to further improve the existing safety measures by implementing the mitigation plan which has been formally presented to the FIA ​​stewards and safety delegates and, where appropriate, increasing signaling resources to ensure that all intersections accessible to vehicles are occupied and further emphasizing to all flaggers the importance of their role and their impact on public safety. The stewards formally refer this incident (the passage of a local resident on special No. 4 yesterday) to the FIA ​​Closed Roads Commission for further investigation.

Finally, the Stewards, by virtue of the authority delegated to them by Article 11.9.3.r of the 2022 FIA International Sporting Code, can and will immediately and definitively stop the competition if the approved safety plan is compromised or violated, or if there is a deviation from the mitigation plan agreed by the organizer. In other words, the last step must be impeccable in terms of security or the rally of Japan will not come to an end…

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