Craig Breen reprimanded, but still leader in Sweden

At the end of a long, already lively day, the 70^e sleeve edition Swedish almost experienced an additional turnaround. After a report from the FIA ​​deputy technical delegate, the Stewards summoned Craig Breen, James Fulton, Pablo Marcos the team manager of Hyundai who is leaving and Tolga Ozakinci who will replace him. This late meeting was motivated by the fact that the No. 20 i1 Rally42 had not covered in electric mode (EV) the entire imposed zone between TC1B and TC2 on Thursday evening. These spaces are one of the new features introduced last year with the appearance of hybrid.

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Breen explained that his car refused to start normally when leaving parc ferme and that he therefore engaged EV mode in a 300m zone where it was not mandatory. Arriving at checkpoint TC1B, discussions by telephone with the team allowed the crew to start the combustion engine. In order to ensure that he could move and knowing that if he turned off his engine he would not be able to restart it, Breen and Fulton entered the 100% electric zone with this mode of propulsion for approximately 30 m, then they switched to hybrid as indicated in the road book.

The scenario described by the pilot was confirmed by recorded data provided by Hyundai. Although the crew violated article 34.1.7, the Stewards decided to only reprimand him and the team, which allows the Irishman to still be leader of the rally Saturday morning.