Elfyn Evans has seen his lead in the World Rally Championship (WRC) increase thanks to penalties imposed on Adrien Fourmaux and Josh McErlean during the Acropolis Rally in Greece. Both penalties of 60 seconds are due to the proper fastening of their co-drivers’ seatbelts during various stages of the rally.
The violations occurred during the twelfth and sixteenth stages of the competition. Fourmaux, a Hyundai driver, had to stop in the twelfth stage to change a punctured tire, thinking that his co-driver, Alex Coria, had his seatbelt fastened. When Fourmaux realized this was not the case, he slowed down to avoid an incident.
On the other hand, McErlean, from M-Sport Ford, suffered a crash during the sixteenth stage. In their report, the commissioners indicated that the co-driver had to unbuckle to place the OK sign and then re-fasten the seatbelt before resuming the race, but he did not do so in time.
These penalties have altered the championship standings, and Evans, who finished seventh in the race, has moved up to fifth position. As a result, his lead in the championship has increased from seven to eleven points over his Toyota teammate, Takamoto Katsuta.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
SourceID: SRC_269daf7b62e7d3bdf7151092002f75f7a8ea027f