Bassas and co-driver Alex Coronado were later excluded for using a bag of ice cubes in the engine bay, a violation of Article 2.13 of the Regional Rally sporting regulations which prohibits “the use or receipt by the crew of any manufactured materials (solid or liquid)”.

It is the second time in as many years that the ERC3 Junior finale outcome between Rally Team Spain and Orsák Rally Sport has been decided by rally officials.

The 2019 ERC3 Junior finale on Barum Rally Zlín ended in acrimony, as Jean-Baptiste Franceschi was demoted from first to fourth after the finish with a notional time slower than the rest of the drivers in his class, handing Efrén Llarena victory and the title with it.

Franceschi had suffered a puncture on Kašava, which had been red flagged for a serious accident involving Martin Vlček after Franceschi had already entered the stage.

Given his slower split times from the puncture, Franceschi’s stage time was adjusted upwards by one minute after the finish, giving Llarena victory and costing Franceschi’s Orsák team-mate Ken Torn the ERC3 Junior title.

This time around Torn was the beneficiary.

Having already wrapped up the ERC3 and ERC3 Junior titles before the Canary Islands Rally, Torn added a fourth win to his 2020 tally, moving from second to first with Bassas’ exclusion.

https://dirtfish.com/rally/erc/fourm...c-win-on-foot/