Appendix 12.2.1 of the FIA International Sporting Code has dominated the shakedown day of Safari Rally Kenya.
The recently implemented rules around driver speech, which Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux fell foul of on Rally Sweden to earn himself a €10,000 fine, have put the drivers on a united footing.
There is an argument – one this author himself made after Sébastien Ogier was fined on Acropolis Rally Greece last year – that the heat of stage ends make it an exception. Both in that stewards’ decision, and subsequent comments from the FIA, the need for drivers to act as role models to society has been frequently cited as a rationale for its new-for-2025 rules.
Ott Tänak is struggling to buy that argument. He intends to be a role model by standing his ground.
“They say we need to be role models, but to be a role model, just be who you are and don’t ever change,” he told DirtFish.
“Even if the system asks you to change, never change. Be yourself, and that’s also one thing to take away in life. At the moment, the system needs to change.”
Tänak stressed the drivers are not trying to fight the FIA
In a bizarrely-timed reply, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem emailed drivers collectively only 10 minutes before the start of shakedown in Kenya, per Gus Greensmith’s comments to DirtFish.
That had been the first contact to the World Rally Drivers’ Alliance (WoRDA) on its concerns around driver speech since its initial statement three weeks ago.
Tänak indicated he was disappointed a resolution hadn’t been found to driver concerns before the rally began – and that remaining silent or speaking at stage ends only in his native language was an unavoidable consequence of the current rules rather than a specific point of protest.
“It’s a shame that we couldn’t get any kind of discussion in these three weeks when we were all sitting home and we could discuss [it],” said Tänak.
”This is nothing about protesting, nothing about fighting. It’s just that with the current punishment system and with the latest actions, we just don’t feel comfortable giving interviews at the end of the stage.
“When you do a half-hour stage or whatever, and you know the adrenaline is pumping and everything is boiling, to put a microphone in your face 10 seconds after the flying finish and say something smart – sometimes it’s tricky.
“I understand we are role models but in these situations, it’s just the way it is. It definitely needs something more than just fining because punishing is not the solution.”
The 2019 world champion has attracted controversy for impulsive stage-end comments in the past. On last year’s Rally Latvia for example, an inflatable arch collapsed in the middle of a stage after Elfyn Evans spun off the road and took out its support cables, leaving Tänak to pile into it at full speed.
“An understandably unhappy Tänak commented at stage end: “I think this describes exactly how safe hands we are in terms of race control. Probably they were having a nice meal and good wine when from the camera you could see that road is blocked and car is coming. Well done race control, you are really taking care of us – good boys.
“We are OK but f****** hell, in front of camera and you could see that it’s blocked and you can see it’s running. Hopefully it was a good wine.”
Tänak wryly suggested that changing from English to his mother tongue at stage ends may not be enough to steer clear of the current rules censoring driver speech.
“Maybe they’re going to translate Estonian as well and get another fine from there,” he said, “so it’s better not to say anything at the moment until we know where we stand.”
An FIA statement to DirtFish confirmed that Ronan Morgan, president of the Drivers Committee, Petter Solberg, vice president of the Committee and Emilia Abel, junior road sport director will hold a discussion with drivers after Safari Rally Kenya regarding the concerns highlighted by Tänak and his fellow World Rally Drivers’ Alliance members.
