New controversy in the Dakar. In case there was not enough with what happened on Sunday and the subsequent reactions, this Tuesday the penalty of 5,000 euros that FIA imposed on Al-Attiyah, leader of the Dakar Rally in cars ahead of Loeb, because it was detected at the end of the stage that it did not have the ‘data logger’ connected to the engine.
The ‘data logger’ is a mandatory element that all cars must carry so that the FIA can control multiple data on the engine and vehicle performance, to ensure that it complies with current regulations. That is, Al-Attiyah could have put more power into his engine in stage 2 without the FIA knowing, for example, since they did not have access to the data of the propellant of the Qatari car.
In the decision of the commissioners, the aforementioned economic fine appears, but also the “Disqualification from the 2022 Dakar Rally”, although it is clarified that this is “suspended” until the end of the rally and that it will be activated in the event that the competitor carries out a similar offense again in the remaining 10 days.
“The stewards determine that there are exceptional circumstances in the present case, insofar as the Dakar Rally consists of 12 days of competition and the infraction discovered in the second stage, and that in the first stage it was correct. The Disqualification from the entire competition does not seem to be proportional, especially for a competitor who has confirmed that he will rectify the problem, so his car will comply with the regulations in the next 10 days ”.
It must be taken into account that competitors must follow the regulations regarding multiple parameters, including the power of their engine, and a maximum speed of 170 km / h in their vehicle. And therefore it is necessary that they are controlled. Toyota claimed it was simply a mechanical oversight, that they forgot to plug it in. But in this case, the FIA recalls that in the past similar errors were already forgiven without disqualification for “exceptional circumstances” and imposed on the competitor with a sanction “less severe than a disqualification”, precisely what they did in this case with Al -Attiyah.
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