The stewards at the Acropolis Rally have given a 1-minute time penalty to Josh McErlean after a safety breach on SS16 in Greece.
During the stage 16, Eoin Treacy was not properly wearing his seat belt while the car was moving. This is against FIA safety rules, which require all crew members to be fully strapped in at all times when on a special stage. The issue happened after the crew briefly went off the road and stopped. The co-driver unfastened his belt to set up the warning signs as required, but when they rejoined the stage, the belt was not correctly fastened while the car was already moving again. The crew explained that the situation happened during a difficult moment on stage and said the co-driver only told the driver to continue once he was properly secured again. They also stressed that safety is always their top priority. However, video footage reviewed by the Stewards clearly showed that the co-driver was still not fully strapped in while the car was moving. Because of this, and after reviewing all the evidence, the stewards decided to apply a 1-minute penalty to their SS16 time, bringing it to 18:46.7 which means that he lost three places and finished Acropolis Rally at seventh place.
Read below the stewards' decision:
Photo Credits: M-Sport
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