WRC Drivers banned from UK

[potsie]

Hi All,

Just heard on this morning's news (here in the UK) that 20 WRC drivers were caught speeding whilst driving "their own cars" between stages of a "world championship rally" in "southern Wales" - so this must be last years Rally GB. The drivers include McRae, Burns, Sainz and Makinnen, and (according to the report) they all may face a driving ban in the UK. However the matter has been adjourned until Novemeber - as that is when all the drivers will be back in the UK. No indication as to why it took so long for this action.

So a few questions:

1. has anyone heard more details on this story?

2. if this is serious, how will this affect this years Rally GB?

3. will the drivers come at all? Imagine if Burnsie (or someone else) had the title won by then, why would he bother coming (apart from sponsorship commitments, of course)?

Any thoughts?

[freakray]

It's a hot topic on another board too.....

Firstly, there is the thing about the police picking on the WRC drivers, it is basically taking advantage of the event to increase their revenue.

If 20 top drivers get banned from driving in the UK, do you think the WRC will keep GB on the calender?
They were quite willing to drop the Safari, why not drop GB too

Tommi was caught speeding in NZ this year, paid an admission of guilt and off he went.

You mention they were driving their 'own' cars, their private vehicles?
I understand they were in their WRC cars, if they had stage damage and were on their way to service, they were probably justifiably in a hurry?

If they are going to insist in pressing the matter, yet want to keep the event, I think they would be better giving them all a ticket and being done with it.

I doubt most of them care if they can drive in the UK, since very few of them live there, including McRae.

[potsie]

I agree with you Freakray - I don't think the FIA would hesitate to drop Rally GB, especially considering they want to include Japan and Mexico in the calendar but the teams are concerned about the cost of a 16 round year. The latest RallyXS mag talks of a 15 round championship - drop GB add Japan and Mexico? I guess the only concern might be the exposure for the manufacturers in the UK.

I also agree that this smacks of revenue raising by the police - if it was a "safety issue" why wait for nearly 9 months before taking action? Why not pull the drivers over (as you say this occurs elsewhere, often resulting in time penalties for the drivers) and deal with it. This might even send a warning to other drivers - this way only one unsafe driver not twenty. Considering the speeds and driving I have witnessed on the Motorways, I can't imagine the rally drivers were any more dangerous.

As for the "own cars" - that is a direct quote from BBC1 radio news, which also sounded funny to me. I assume they are just talking about the road sections between stages.

BTW, which other forum were you talking about?

[freakray]

The drivers use public/open roads to travel between stages in the WRC cars.

Other board - rcmg on Yahoo

[Marco_Wrc]

Take a look at these videos and you'll see what some WRC drivers are like when they're not on a stage.

McRae.wmv (1MB)

Delecour.wmv (2MB)

[freakray]

In all seriousness though Marco, look at which 2 drivers that is....

[Focus2000]

The sad truth is that speeding is a political issue in the UK these days, with the government imposing more and more restrictions on road users. Speed cameras are getting increasingly prolific, with some police forces being able to keep revenue from speeding fines. The more drivers they fine the more revenue they'll get. They are then supposed to put that money back into 'road safety' initiatives ... but that usually means more speed cameras

Go to http://www.channel4.com/apps26/4car/...nk=211&id=5872 to see what we're up against.

I think the WRC drivers will have highly paid solicitors who will be able to argue their case in court. I wouldn't imagine that they'll be banned, but most likely receive hefty fines and penalty points on their licenses.

[zebrathree]

If they break the law, thats it. No justification at all.

They should just pay the fine and move on.

The nine months would be the Court System, not the Police BTW.

[freakray]

Originally Posted by zebrathree

If they break the law, thats it. No justification at all.

They should just pay the fine and move on.

The nine months would be the Court System, not the Police BTW.

Actually, with camera traps, the 9 months can be the police AND court system, since it takes them a while to process the images and recorded speeds sometimes.
Once the various bits of 'evidence' have been put together, then they may proceed further, if the speed is in excess of a certain limit then they will hand it over to the court.

In my experience it can take up to 4 months for a ticket from a speeding camera to arrive.

[zebrathree]

Damn, thats quite awhile.

Over here it gets done ASAP as the govt. really really like the money going into the consolidated fund.