I don’t. Do you? No. Never. He does, though. Or he did. Once. But only when it’s raining.
Thierry Neuville’s Sunday night disqualification from Safari Rally Kenya lit phones up across Africa and throughout Europe on Monday morning.
Illegal recceing sounds shocking – because it is.
It’s been a long time since we’ve had this kind of story, the last one involved an all-Peugeot spat between Gilles Panizzi and François Deleçour. The former stood accused of being on a stage (on a bike if memory serves) and his ‘team-mate’ lost the plot. The pair stood and ranted at each other, with team members stepping in before they came to blows.
This was nothing like that.
There’s no question that Neuville was on a stage when he shouldn’t have been. But friends or acquaintances of his were.
To put some meat on the bone here a couple of people were tracked in a hire car on private roads on a closed estate when they shouldn’t have been there. Locals in Kenya helped fill DirtFish in on the details, with one telling us: “They were lucky the officials stopped them. There’s wildlife in those places which is less controlled when they’re not expecting people.
“They went looking for rocks, but they could have found something much worse. Basically, the officials were in position because the rally was going in and out of this private estate – that’s why it was controlled and that’s why they were stopped.”
Having just about got over the shock of Sunday night, then came Hyundai’s statement, outlining this contravention of the rules as customary practice.
Excuse me, what?
This is Hyundai Motorsport essentially saying illegal recce is customary practice in the World Rally Championship.
In case you missed it, the sentence in question states: “We understand and take note of the FIA’s position to take necessary steps to stop the customary practice of participants accessing the roads to enhance their knowledge.”
DirtFish has asked Hyundai Motorsport for clarification.
This takes us back to the top of the story.
You? Me?
No.
Him?
Hmm…
Fingers are being pointed all around the service park right now.
That question of customary practice has ruffled more than a few feathers, with some requesting the Korean manufacturer explains itself to World Motor Sport Council.
There are those close to Neuville who feel he’s the scapegoat for something which happens everywhere and all the time.
They would say that. But, being brutally honest, I don’t doubt it.
There are always going to be grey areas: if somebody is, for example, using a spectator point to cross a road on the Monte Carlo Rally, they notice ice forming beneath their feet and call their rally driving friend to tell them about it.
Or somebody spots some rock fall from a spectator area and alerts their mate. Maybe even sending a pin and a picture.
All of the above happens and will continue to happen. It’s impossible to police that kind of thing.
But having folk driving down a stage when the rally is running (or, more correctly as Article 35.4.2 of this year’s sporting regulations states: “After the publication of supplementary regulations.”) is an absolute no-no.
Martijn Wydaeghe is absolutely right to question anything being done to the stages after the cars have completed the recce. That, also, is a no-no. But sometimes it has to happen. And there are agreed methods for the implementation of anti-cutting devices post-recce.
If Wydaeghe and Neuville had significant safety concerns on this front, they should have been raised officially and through the team. Perhaps they were. Either way, asking your pals to drive through and take a look was not the way forwards.
As you can imagine, this topic has dominated DirtFish’s Monday morning and it’s fascinating to hear stories of what went on in days gone by. Those stories – or at least some of them – will inevitably find their way into this corner of cyberspace, but the reasoned thinking is that the onset of tracking and the prevalence of social media and camera phones has forced change.
That said, it still happens. Neuville’s not the only one doing this. He’s just the first one to be caught.
The lesson to be learned here is of prevention.
There’s been some frustration at the FIA’s approach to this process, with a good number of voices calling for a more draconian penalty.
Firstly, it’s worth noting the FIA had nothing to do with the stewards’ decision – and never does. The clerk of the course informed the Safari Rally Kenya stewards and the stewards acted impartially and of their own volition. That’s the point of having stewards.
And if the rules need changing, that’s something the FIA can propose.
The governing body doesn’t have a vote on actual rule change – again, that goes through WRC Commission and is then voted on by the manufacturers, the promoter, Pirelli and a representative from the event organizers.
The FIA then polices the rules.
Point is, is it worth being far more draconian and re-writing the sporting regs to state anybody associated with a crew member found on the stages – without sensible dispensation – will be banned for the next event? Admittedly, the stewards would be the ones administering the ban, but it’s the most sensible option.
You make it so risky that nobody risks it.
