Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson have been fined €2,000 by the stewards during Rally Italia Sardegna 2026 after an air filter cover was left on the road between SS9 and SS10.
The incident involved Car No. 99, with the crew stopping during the road section to replace the air filter cover. After completing the repairs under significant time pressure, the crew inadvertently failed to place the removed component back inside the car.
The stewards determined that the incident constituted a breach of Article 17.8 of the 2026 FIA WRC Sporting Regulations, which requires any spare part installed during servicing to be carried in the car until the next service park.
Solberg and Edmondson, together with competitor representative Kaj Lindström and technical director Tom Fowler, appeared before the stewards on October 3. The crew acknowledged that they were aware of the regulation but explained that the omission was an unintended mistake while attempting to complete the repairs as quickly as possible.
Fowler confirmed that the discarded air filter cover weighed approximately 140 grams, a figure also verified by the FIA Technical Delegate.
While the stewards accepted the crew's explanation and recognised that the infringement was the result of an oversight, they nevertheless confirmed that the regulations had been breached. However, they also concluded that the incident provided no meaningful sporting advantage and had no safety implications.
Taking into account the extremely low weight of the component, the circumstances surrounding the incident and relevant precedents, the stewards considered a €2,000 fine to be an appropriate and proportionate penalty.
Watch below the stewards' decision:
Photo Credits: Toyota
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