World Rally Championship: ‘Urgent solution’ required for FIA-swearing fines, say drivers’ body
The drivers of the World Rally Championship issued a joint statement asking for an “emergency solution” to the world governing body of racing The Fia.
This comes after French driver Adrien Fourmaux was fined 10,000 euros while sworn in during a TV interview.
The World Rally Driver League (Worda) said the punishment for misdemeanors such as oaths reached an “unacceptable level.”
The FIA has issued a new sports code that could be fined, suspended or docked for champion points for this year’s sworn in.
Voda added that the scale of the fine was “very disproportionate to the average income and budget at the rally.”
The driver’s agency calls for discussions with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who had previously said he wanted to be sworn in from the sport.
The statement was signed by 33 drivers and drivers – including champion leader Elfyn Evans and Northern Ireland’s Josh McErlean – is the latest step in rivals’ concerns about the FIA approach.
Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz said member of the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GDPA) Discussion on how to deal with new sanctions.
Worda statement acknowledged that “competitors must comply with the referee’s decision” but added that “the sanctions on minors, isolation and unintentional verbal errors are alarming.”
It cites the adrenaline sensation of the driver, who was interviewed in live seconds after finishing the stage, the fact that English is not the first language of many competitors in the WRC, and that “ordinary spoken” is not as insulting or aggressive.
Worda also benefits from whom the FIA fine will be fined, saying: “The lack of transparency will only amplify the concerns and undermine confidence in the system”.
This comes after the GDP’s open letter to the FIA in November, requiring governing bodies to treat them like adults and demand transparency about how to spend the fines “inappropriate”.
