Rally Japan organisers hit with hefty €50,000 fine for safety breach

Officials were forced to cancel stage 12 after a civilian car made its way onto the stage

Rally Japan organisers have been fined €50,000 and issued an additional €100,000 suspended fine after an unauthorised vehicle ventured onto a live stage at the World Rally Championship season finale. 

A minivan entered stage 12 (Ena) on Saturday morning, forcing officials to cancel the test after six of the eight Rally1 crews posted times.

Television cameras captured a vehicle that was stationary facing oncoming traffic approaching the start line, where Elfyn Evans' Toyota GR Yaris was waiting behind a temporary barrier.

According to a report from the event organisers, a civilian car stopped at a checkpoint where five on-site members of staff checked the driver's pass. The driver failed to show the required pass and subsequently broke through the checkpoint and entered the stage and drove 520 metres in the opposite direction.

The vehicle was asked to move off the course but did not comply and remained in the same place for over 10 minutes. Police then attended the scene and escorted the vehicle from the stage.

The FIA launched an investigation into the incident that was deemed a “failure to take reasonable measures resulting in an unsafe situation”, which has resulted in a hefty fine being levied at the event organisers.

“The organisers shall be jointly and severally viable to pay a fine of €50,000," read the report.

“An additional fine of €100,000 is imposed on the organisers, which is applied with suspension of sentence subject to the following conditions:

“The organiser must conduct a full marshals' training with specific modules on road surveillance and communications in co-operation with a dedicated FIA Task Force, the FIA Safety Department and the ASN Japan Automobile Federation before the next WRC Rally Japan in 2025.

“The training results with a comprehensive presentation and report will be sent to the FIA Commissions and Committees above mentioned. 

“No further breaches by the organiser of Art 12.2.1.h) of the 2024 FIA International Sporting Code in the next WRC Rally Japan 2025.” 

The stewards report confirmed that the van entered the stage at a marshal post that was secured only by tape and marshals and without a physical barrier.

The incident was not immediately communicated to Rally Control by the marshals officiating the stage, with the first communication coming to the FIA Sporting Delegate in Rally Control via the team representative for Evans. When the van appeared in front of the stage commander, he stopped the car from starting the stage.

The investigation also revealed that two checkpoints breached by the vehicle were surveyed by safety guards working for two different companies and “there was no communication between them”. 

The report revealed that the Clerk of the Course was instructed to put in place an immediate contingency plan “to ensure the safer running of the remainder of the rally”. It also stated that failure to enact a sufficient contingency plan and any deviation from the plan agreed with the FIA safety delegate would have resulted in the event being cancelled.

The Clerk of the Course confirmed that physical barriers were put in place at accessible junctions, which ensured the event continued. 

This is the second time in three years that a civilian car has entered a live stage, following an incident in 2022 where WRC2 drivers Emil Lindholm and Sami Pajari came across a car driving in the opposite direction.

The report concluded: “The event continued to its conclusion without any further incident of the same nature.

“Nevertheless this issue cannot be considered as an isolated occurrence as in 2022 there was a similar case where a vehicle had entered a special stage from an un-­marshalled junction where the taping was missing and in 2023 there was a similar case of lack of communication between the Zero Car and Rally Control, resulting in the first competition car on the stage coming across the Zero Car parked in the middle of the stage.

“The Stewards concluded that the Organisers were in breach of Art. 12.2.1.h of the 2024 FIA International Sporting Code and in view of the severity of the offence a fine was imposed on the Organisers. 

“An additional fine was imposed on the Organisers with suspension of sentence in order to encourage the continuous improvement on marshals' training with a specific focus on safety.”