Changes made to the route for Saturday’s Elmenteita stage have left Safari Rally leader Oliver Solberg fuming at what he felt was a dangerous decision.
The organizers made the changes, reportedly to limit the scope for cutting corners, after the recce and communicated those alterations near the finish of SS12 to the crews and teams via a video.
Solberg’s Toyota team-mates Takamoto Katsuta and Elfyn Evans were both similarly angered – with the Welshman feeling the revised route was a likely cause of his two punctures.
Solberg said: “Seriously, organizer and FIA, what they’ve done here at the end is unacceptable. Putting the sticks after recce, sending us a phone video! And now all the sticks [to mark the route] are gone, there’s rocks everywhere, it’s dangerous. And they talk about safety, this is dangerous.”
Evans added: “It’s an absolute joke. They put all these things in the finish to stop us cutting, after the recce, and now the stones are everywhere. I just went for the line and double puncture. It’s ridiculous. Completely out of order.”
Changes to the route after the crews have completed their two-pass recce are rare in the World Rally Championship – as supplying those amendments leaves no ability for the drivers to check the line of the road before arriving at full speed on the first pass of the stage.
Solberg was angered by the changes to the route in the Elmenteita stage
On hearing the drivers’ comments, an FIA spokesperson responded, saying: “Following completion of reconnaissance on SS12/15 and SS13/16, it became clear that competitors were substantially deviating from the defined roadway. As a result, and in accordance with Article 19.2 of the FIA WRC Sporting Regulations, the organisers installed barriers and additional taping over the final 1.13km of SS12/15 and the final 0.9km of SS13/16 in order to ensure compliance with the defined route.
“Following the installation of these measures, the Clerk of the Course issued Communication No. 8 at 17:45 on 13 March, informing competitors of the changes. This was followed by the distribution of video footage of the amended sections to all competitors, in line with standard practice at FIA World Rally Championship events, providing crews with sufficient time to review the changes and adjust their pace notes accordingly.”
