Pierre-Louis Loubet’s co-driver, Nicolas Gilsoul, did not have his helmet correctly fastened on SS4 of Rally Italy Sardinia, but avoided a penalty from the event stewards.
The M-Sport Ford crew climbed two positions on SS4, the first pass of the monstrous 30-mile Monte Lerno – Sa Conchedda test, to third overall.
But their afternoon went terribly as first Loubet’s Puma Rally1 wouldn’t engage into gear in the time control for SS5, earning him a three-minute time penalty, before something broke which pitched him off the road and out not just of Friday but the entire Sardinian weekend.
However there was more trouble ahead as event stewards received video evidence that Gilsoul did not have his helmet fastened throughout SS4.
That therefore prompted a hearing, but M-Sport sporting coordinator Céline Guès informed the stewards that Gilsoul would arrive back to the Olbia service park late given he had retired on the final stage of Friday.
The stewards elected therefore to postpone the hearing to the following evening (Saturday).
But because Loubet and Gilsoul never restarted, the hearing was consequently canceled and Gilsoul escaped any punishment.
The stewards reasoned that “taking into account that car No.7 had retired from the rally and that the penalty for the above severe safety infringement is normally a one-minute time penalty, no penalty would be applied in this case”.
