WRC Driver Conduct On Road Sections - Case Tänak at Monte Carlo

[AnttiK7]

This is how Jackie Stewart must have felt in the early 1970s when trying to talk reason. I don't get what is so hard to understand about the difference of driving on public roads and driving on a rally stage, which is what the sport is about. Or how this kind of unnecessary showboating might be damaging for rallying, when taking off the rally fan's glasses.

[J_n_z]

If you are a woman fair enough, if you are a man think a little... life is not all about safety and political correction. If all fathers act like this, in 20 years there will be no rally drivers.

[AnttiL]

I think it was also stupid from Tänak, that could have been a dangerous situation with the guys having pulled over on the road. One of them jumps immediately in the middle of the road as he sees Tänak pass. If someone would have been driving after Tänak, the guy could have been run over. A rally car is probably noisy enough to cover the sound of a normal car behind.

[Mr C1412]

You can’t compare this to F1 in the 60s where drivers were being killed at almost each race meeting.

How many members of the public have been killed by WRC competitors? The answer is negligible, so it’s not an issue.

[Mr C1412]

I should havd said how many members of the public being killed on road sections

[AnttiK7]

You can’t compare this to F1 in the 60s where drivers were being killed at almost each race meeting.

How many members of the public have been killed by WRC competitors? The answer is negligible, so it’s not an issue.

I wasn't comparing the incident to F1 in the sixties or anything like that, but the baffling reactions and opinions I am facing by members of rally community to a behavior that in my view should quite clearly be regarded as unnecessary for a sport that I love.

[Integrale]

Ott is in control, it's completely fine from a safety point of view. But I agree about the perception it creates among people who aren't a fan of our sport. Social media ruins a lot.

He shouldn't be banned though, what's wrong with Tomi asking Ott not to do that again?

[T16]

I think it was also stupid from Tänak, that could have been a dangerous situation with the guys having pulled over on the road. One of them jumps immediately in the middle of the road as he sees Tänak pass. If someone would have been driving after Tänak, the guy could have been run over. A rally car is probably noisy enough to cover the sound of a normal car behind.

He is facing Tanak’s car before he passes, therefore he would have seen another car, if there was one behind him.

[AnttiL]

Also this twitter thread is discussing it https://twitter.com/HartusvuoriWRC/s...54713227239424

[CahunaKiwi]

Without knowing all the circumstances behind the video I'd blame the event organisers.

I have competed on rallies where I can cruise along the transit stages and still have plenty of time before checking into a time control. I have also competed on rallies where I did a special stage with no issues and found I had 2 mins to get to the next time control (10km away). Did I drive the transit route like a special stage? Possibly... :-) It's always been like this. Ever since I was a kid spectating back in the early 80's, every time I watched (or was involved with organising/competing on rallies) I saw competitors ducking in and out of traffic in order to avoid being late to the next time control. Still happens at every rally I go to today. If the rally organiser has not allowed sufficient time between time controls then the drivers will do whatever they need to do in order to reach the next time control on-time. If you were Tanak, competing for the world championship, driving your a** off to gain tenths of a second in a stage and your representing a team who are spending millions to win the championship, are you going to drive sedately on a touring section and get a lateness penalty or are you going to drive as quickly as you can to get to the next time control and check in on-time? It's not right and it isn't actually a fair position to place the driver in (break the road rules or lose the rally), hence why I say it's possibly the organiser's fault for not allowing enough time to transit between stages.

Of course if Tanak decided to stop for 10 mins to fix a problem with the car and is driving like this because of a delay of his own making then I agree driving like this is unacceptable (albeit understandable, as he doesn't want any time penalties). Regardless, I doubt he is driving like this just to showboat. Penalties for being caught by the police during touring stages can be stringent (aside from the delays they cause) so drivers do drive within the law and try to avoid attracting attention if possible. Sometimes they get caught and penalised; on Rally Sweden in 2011 Petter Solberg's co-driver had to drive the last special stage of the rally because Petter lost his licence on the touring stage after speeding.

But I do agree, it's not a good look for the sport.