(Reuters) -World championship rally drivers have resolved a dispute with the sport’s governing body over when they can swear during a competition.
The World Rally Drivers Alliance (WoRDA) had protested after Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux was fined 10,000 euros ($11,375.00), with a further 20,000 suspended, for swearing in a television interview during Rally Sweden in February.
They stayed silent, or spoke only in their own languages, in stage-end interviews at last month’s Kenya Safari Rally.
Retired eight-times world champion co-driver Julien Ingrassia, representing WoRDA, told the website that a compromise had been reached ahead of this weekend’s round in the Canary Islands.
“The rally will now be divided into two zones: one is a controlled zone, one is an uncontrolled zone,” the Frenchman, who raced alongside compatriot Sebastien Ogier, explained.
“The latter is based around heat-of-the-moment areas such as stage ends, onboard cars during the stages or on road sections. Controlled sections are, for example, the media zones and the post-event FIA press conferences.
“We’re really pleased to find a solution. As was the case in Formula One, adjustments were needed to take into consideration some of the unique aspects of our discipline.”
The drivers had argued that the fines were vastly disproportionate to average incomes and budgets in rallying compared to Formula One, with some drivers not full-time professionals.
The FIA has cracked down on swearing in Formula One under the leadership of its president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, with stiff sanctions set out in the sporting code.
($1 = 0.8791 euros)
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Clare Fallon)
