The FIA is investigating a “potentially dangerous” incident when an inflatable arched promotional structure trapped Otto Tanaka during a World Rally Championship visit to Latvia.
The WRC title contender claimed the limp promotional arch from the road after Toyota's Elfyn Evans got here into contact with the structure while recovering from a violent skid moments earlier.
The stage was not red-flagged soon enough to avoid Tanaka's i20 N becoming entangled within the fallen structure. Stewards eventually red-flagged the stage to clear the incident and issued nominal times to Tanaka, Adrien Fourmaux and Takamoto Katsuta, who were also injured.
When TV crews spoke to Tanak at the top of the stage, the frustrated driver lashed out at race control, saying: “I think that pretty much describes how safe we are in terms of race control. They were probably having a good meal and a good wine when the cameras showed the road blocked and a car coming. Well done race control, you're really looking after us.”
“We're fine, but f***, you can see the road is blocked and you're holding it. Let's hope it was good wine.”
Ott Tanak, Hyundai World Rally Team
Photo: McKlein / Motorsports images
Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul called for a transparent evaluation of the incident to find out how it might be avoided in the longer term.
At the top of the rally, the FIA, Rally Latvia organisers and Hyundai issued a joint statement confirming that an investigation was ongoing and that Tanak had apologised for his comments to rally controllers.
“In connection with the incident involving car no. 8 [Tanak] “Special Stage 14 is under in-depth review by the FIA. The driver, Ott Tanak, and a team representative met with FIA officials on site to debate the situation, which all of them agreed was potentially dangerous,” the statement read.
“When discussing the situation, Tanak agreed that his comments after the stage weren’t in one of the best interests of the game, but that they were made immediately after the incident. He apologised for his comments regarding Rally Control, but welcomed the upcoming scrutiny.
“Hyundai Motorsport, the organiser and the FIA are working together to better understand the incident and jointly strive to continuously improve the safety systems in the sport, which is a key objective of the FIA.”
