[WRC] Ardeca Ypres Rally 2022

[mknight]

... Toksport had sent someone to film the corner at Wijtschate, both on SS11 and SS15. They had told all their drivers not to cut that corner....

What you believe isn’t really what matters. What matters for me is that one of the Toksport team members (Bernt Kollevold) went to a turn to film the competitors of Andreas Mikkelsen.

Indeed, what you believe isn't what really matters. Here is your conspiracy theory that Toksport sent him to film specifically competitors of Mikkelsen and then specifically told their drivers not to cut on that specific corner.
Somehow Ingram and Rossel got the memo backwards then, as Ingram cut much more than Rossel, who was similar to Mikkelsen... and both meters off Lefevbre.

I watched the two runs of onboards of Lefevbre and compared with Mikkelsen, Rossel and Ingram (all Rally2 available at that point) and it was immediatelly clear that Lefevbre was deeper on all cuts where you could pick. It's not that it was just specific corner where everything was different. Sure I haven't watched other stages.

If you want to enforce this rule in Ypres all competitors will get penalties. But you can’t really enforce it in a way that treats everyone the same. The FIA or the organisation can’t control it. The only way to enforce it is by complaints. That’s the issue. It’s arbitrary. And to add to that, teams have an incentive to ‘catch’ their adversaries.

Maybe you guys can understand it with the picture below.

If your conclusion is that DG Sport should’ve filed a complaint for this cut, then that’s exactly what my problem is.

How deep is ok is for stewards/rules to decide and clearly indicate. Don't see the big issue as long as there is a clear definition. For example "not all 4 wheels off the road". (Was there one communicated before the rally? I dunno, some senteces seem to point to that). If that picture is from SS and all wheels are off road (not 100% clear angle) then that should lead to same penalty (5s for first offence) if there is to be a consistency.

There has to be a clear line of what is allowed and what is not. Not a fluffy one, where one thinks is ok while others don't.

I really don’t think Lefebvre knew about anything. He drove like he always does in Belgium.

I think so as well, and with this penalty the stewards indicated that this way was not ok for WRC. This limit should have been clearly communicated to everyone before the rally.

About the suggestion to put barriers in cuts… I don't think it would be smart if the organisation started putting up blocks or haybales after the recce has finished. I think everybody on this forum understands why.

Obviously those should be put before recce like it is usually done on just about all rallies.