Both Josh McErlean and Adrien Fourmaux have been handed a 1-minute time penalty after their co-driver’s seatbelt was found unfastened while the car was in motion.
After sliding off the road in SS16, M-Sport’s Joshua McErlean and co-driver Eoin Treacy stopped to place the warning triangle, as regulations require following an off. Treacy got out to do so, then climbed back in to rejoin the stage, but the car was already rolling again before he had managed to refasten his belt.
He insists he’d told McErlean to “don’t go”, and that the car only edged forward under gravity, with McErlean only accelerating once Treacy was properly secured. None of that swayed the stewards: their reading of the rules is that the seatbelt requirement applies the moment the car is “in motion”, however slowly, and whatever the circumstances.
A near-identical scenario played out for Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux after a roadside tyre change in SS12. Fourmaux pulled away believing co-driver Alexandre Coria was already strapped in, only to realise moments later that he wasn’t.
He responded by slowing right down and driving with extra care until Coria managed to fasten his belt. The breach was caught on “high-speed footage” and carried the same consequence.
No grey area for the Stewards
Under Article 53.1 of the WRC Sporting Regulations, along with Article 12.2.1.h of the International Sporting Code and Appendix L, belts must be fastened “whenever a car is in motion” and “at all times during a special stage”.
There is no allowance in the rules for slow speeds, verbal warnings, or good intentions. What counts is simply whether the car was moving with an unfastened belt. On that basis, both crews received the same 1-minute penalty.
The penalties promote Sami Pajari to P4 and championship leader Elfyn Evans to P5. It means Evans gains 4 championship points, extending his championship lead to 11 points over team-mate Takamoto Katsuta.
McErlean, who had finished in a career-best fourth, still finishes with a career-best result in P6, just 0.6 seconds behind Evans. Adrien Fourmaux drops to P7 overall.
Photos: M-Sport, Hyundai Motorsport
