Now that is stupid!
He was pushing hard, it is motorsport afterall.

got to love Novikov! Goes off and eventually rejoins with the front end totally smashed in with the car mechanically fine.

I’m not sure if you’re actually serious!?

It’s a racing incident pure and simple, the same type of accident that happens on most rallies on a weekly basis.

I could understand the decision had he been pulling a few doughnuts whilst whooping like a madman and waving his arm out of the window ( Panizi @ WRC Catalunya 2002springs to mind http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3lycIaNMfc )

Or McRae at Margam park taking a huge cut - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfF83YXjxnk

Bear in mind he’s on as close to slicks as the WRC rules will allow, so i don’t think he’d have had much more of a different outcome had he heaved the anchors and tried to stop.

With regards to the steward’s comment on spectator and marshal safety, well had anyone been in the area where he initially left the road then the marshal and spectator are wholly at fault there! The ones who were close to the telegraph pole shouldn’t have been where they were, you can clearly see a spectator area where there’s a good number of fans standing watching in safety, that is where they should have been. They have chosen to not go there so they are solely responsible for their decision on that one.

I don’t understand their comment either about ' not immediately checking the status of spectators and marshals before continuing, both actions being dangerous to those around them'. In all my years of rally marshalling I’ve never once seen this. As soon as the car gets the right way up/round they are off down stage again, unless of course they realise they have hit someone.

Yep I’m serious. Its a stupid decision by the stewards, one that as far as i know has never been issued to drivers previously for many similar and often worse incidents.
Had he not hit the telegraph pole and rejoined after getting the right way round i doubt we would have heard anything but how lucky he was to have got away with it.

I guess we will probably just have to agree on a difference of opinion on this.


looks almost identical to his Finland off damage

Surely you need to take visibility into account though? Solberg couldn't see and neither could the spectators, and that makes it a dangerous decision in my book. I'm a regular rally spectator and have an idea of where is safe to stand so I'd be pretty gutted to hit from BEHIND by a car I couldn't see coming and that was at full throttle with no consideration for who might be ahead. Even hearing it coming you'd have no idea which way to jump.

Thew only difference is that marshall had fallen over and in the panic was struggling to stand up, also Novikov did just about stop. Petter chose to keep his foot in with no visibility, which was far more stupid and dangerous.

Winner

He's superhuman. He's only doing a part time run next year so maybe someone else can sneak in? Probably Hirvonen though Matthew Wilson will probably be challenging for the title next year

Well done to Loeb on another title, not alot else you can say really!

Great drive by Latvala pushing as hard as possible and improving on tarmac all the time!

I cant believe Novikov finished 7th after his off! Its amazing how his Fiesta seems to survive big impacts, while a small stick ended Hirvonen's title chances on Rally GB last year!

Also great to see Breen win in the SWRC after PAddon threw away a 2 minute lead, putting his Fabia in a ditch! It sets up a brilliant final round in Spain with PG, Breen and Paddon all going for the title!

Yeah was gutted for Paddon - he doesn't make many mistakes at all and that one may have put him out of SWRC title contention. He was going well for his first tarmac rally in an S2000 car too.