McErlean and Fourmaux penalised for breaching seatbelt regulations

Jon McErlean (M-Sport Ford) finished the Acropolis Rally in Greece with his best-ever result – fourth place overall – in a World Rally Championship event. On the penultimate special stage on the final day, he had survived a scare after skidding off the road.

Jon McErlean: Trotz Zeitstrafe bestes WM-Ergebnis in der Karriere

Foto: Red Bull

However, this mistake proved costly in the end, as his co-driver Eoin Treacy’s seatbelts had not yet been fully fastened when McErlean resumed driving. Following the incident, Treacy had been forced to hold up the ‘OK’ sign outside the car.

Treacy explained at the hearing before the race stewards that he had told McErlean not to set off yet, as his seatbelts were not fully fastened. However, video footage showed that the car was already in motion before Treacy’s seatbelts were fully fastened.

Adrian Fourmaux/Alexandre Corias neu auf Platz sieben gewertet

Foto: Red Bull

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The time penalty sees the M-Sport duo drop back to sixth place overall, which, ironically, still represents their best result in a World Rally Championship round.

Hyundai driver Adrien Fourmaux stopped on SS12 to repair a puncture. However, he set off before his co-driver Alexandre Corias’s seatbelts were fully fastened. The Frenchman quickly realised this was not the case and slowed the car down. However, video footage once again captured the incident and a penalty was imposed on the pair. Fourmaux, who had initially been classified in sixth place, two places behind McErlean, drops one place to seventh as a result of the penalty.

Adrian Fourmaux im griechischen Schotterstaub

Foto: Red Bull

As a result, Sami Pajari moves up to fourth place in the standings, whilst championship leader Elfyn Evans gains two places and is now fifth. This earns him four championship points, extending his lead over his Toyota team-mate Takamoto Katsuta to 11 points and over rally winner Sébastien Ogier to 37 points.