We know that Oliver Solberg is a rebel who likes to put on a show in front of the spectators. Already in 2023, at the end of the Rally of Portugal, the Swede received a one-minute penalty for performing donuts on the Lousada rallycross circuit, at the finish of the 15th special. It must be believed that this sanction did not calm him down or cool him down, because the young Toyota driver did it again on Sunday, after the finish of the Monte-Carlo Rally! After his ceremonial passage on the podium, the son of the 2003 world champion boasted of a beautiful but dangerous slide – a drift – on the Fairmont hairpin, a corner well known to Formula 1 fans.
If the spectators present loved the Scandinave's stunt, this drift was not at all to the taste of the race commissioners, who decided to bang their fist on the table and apply a heavy sanction as a result. Sunday evening, a few hours after the official arrival in Monaco, the race direction decided to sanction Oliver Solberg with a five-minute penalty for his maneuver!
No impact for Solberg in WRC2
“The commissioners reviewed the video evidence. The incident occurred on the section of road which leads to the final podium in the Principality of Monaco, in the “Fairmont” bend. The driver admitted he was driving sideways in front of spectators. The pilot apologized for his error, adding that in his opinion he did not create a dangerous situation.specifies the FIA and the commissioners in the report of their decision.
“The stewards examined the case in detail and concluded that a potentially dangerous situation had been created because the driver of the No. 20 car was entering a corner in drift mode and there were many people standing on the corner. Article 12.18 of the Supplementary Regulations of the 93rd Monte-Carlo Automobile Rally stipulates that exhibition driving is strictly prohibited anywhere due to lack of suitable space. The stewards therefore decided that the driver of car no. 20 had not respected the regulations and applied the time penalty [de cinq minutes]. »
-A heavy penalty which therefore relegates Oliver Solberg to 15th place in the general classification of this Monte-Carlo Rally – Jan Cerny (Citroën) and Roberto Dapra (Skoda) thus gaining one place each – and to 8th place in the Rally2 category. However, this sanction has no impact on his season, since the Swede did not include the Monte-Carlo Rally among his seven rallies counting towards his WRC2 championship. He was therefore not eligible for points this weekend.
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