Eight-Time World Champion Does Celebratory Donuts, Gets Fined by the FIA

According to the stewards, the eight-time WRC champion had breached the FIA regulations for “exhibition driving” in an area where it was not allowed according to the supplementary regulations of the rally. Such areas, if available, are mentioned in the said addendum to the rally regulations, and it was the competitor's job to know if it was allowed to do such things there.

It is important to note that the supplementary regulations of the rally do not mention an “exhibition area” according to Article 34.1.3 of the 2022 FIA WRC Sporting Regulations.

Moreover, no such mention was made through a Bulletin or another announcement sent out to teams. In other words, there was no designated area within the premises where the rally was taking place where a driver could perform donuts.

If you watched the Live feed of the shakedown, you might have noticed a roundabout that included a turn that was done in a full drift by crews, and that was part of the route. Some crews have done an extra donut for the fans who were watching, but this situation is not about that.

Instead, we are writing about two donuts done in an area that was closed-off to fans and other vehicles, had rally cars enter it one at a time, and that could have been an exhibition area if that was desired by the organizers.

Now, nobody informed Sebastien Ogier that he must stop, or that he had breached the rules at the moment of his donuts. Moreover, nobody tried to stop him in any way.

The FIA Stewards had taken note of Ogier's actions later and had issued a reprimand for the driver, as well as a fine for breaching the regulations because he did “exhibition driving,” which represented “an unsafe act” in this case.

I was intrigued by this story from Autosport, and I decided to read the 2022 Rally RACC Rules and search if there was any mention of an exhibition area. There was no such mention, but there was no mention that there is no area of this kind, as well as no word about Exhibition driving.

In contrast, the 2022 Ypres Rally Belgium that was held in August 2022 brings up “Exhibition driving under FIA WRC, Art 34.1.3,” and it clearly remarks that “it is not permitted due to lack of suitable space.”

While Ogier had left the premises of the event after the prize-giving ceremony, he did explain his actions to his team manager, who then represented him in front of the stewards and race organizers.

I bet you are all curious as to what the explanation for this was, right? Well, it was all a misunderstanding, as Ogier had told his team manager that one of the preceding cars started into the podium area with the Launch mode, which led him to believe that the empty space was an exhibition area prepared to perform donuts. The Team Manager apologized for this incident.

While we agree that the rules of a competition are there for a reason and that there should be no negotiations regarding exceptions, we think that Ogier should not have been fined for this one. At least, not for exhibition driving that represented an unsafe act, but only for breaking the rules of the rally – something that did happen.

It was Ogier's job to know better regarding the rules – as you do not become an eight-time WRC Driver's Champion by not following the rules or being unaware of them, even though he is human, and we are all prone to mistakes. After a long rally, it was understandable for the French driver to believe that it was okay to perform celebratory donuts.

Was Ogier's demonstration dangerous to someone? Allow me to respectfully disagree. As you can see in the video that was posted on Seb Ogier's verified Twitter account, there were no other cars around his Toyota, and there were no people anywhere near it when it launched from a standstill or when it did donuts.

A demonstration like this done by a less-reputed driver might have been dangerous, I agree. But the person doing it had just won the rally and was also the world's second most successful WRC driver ever. If there was a driver there who everyone could agree was in top form that day, the driver in question is Ogier.

Moreover, Ogier was the 2021 World Rally Championship's Drivers' Champion and was the reigning WRC champ until Rally New Zealand, where Kalle Rovanpera had become the points champion.

With the latter's podium finish at this event, and the complete dominance of stages achieved by Ogier and Kalle (the former won seven out of eight stages, and the latter won the eighth one), Toyota showed that it deserved its WRC Constructors' Championship title, which it obtained after the conclusion of this event.

The 38-year-old French driver even had the time to turn off the more aggressive race mode that was previously switched on just before entering the special finish ramp where he and his co-driver would get out of their car, greet the audience, and then move on as a part of the procedure that concludes the rally.

The Frenchman will pay the fine, as there is no point in contesting it, but that does not change the fact that the rules can be improved or changed – at least for this. Do not kill celebratory donuts with rules like this.

My proposal here is to have an exhibition area, at least for podium finishers – at every WRC event, or at least try to have one so that fans get to see top-tier race cars doing their thing without the pressure of the clock hanging over the driver's mind.

If done correctly, as well as safely – we think both boxes were ticked here; donuts are more than all right in our book. They should be damn close to mandatory – if the winner feels like it, of course, and the rules should reflect that in the future. Dear FIA, please think about it.

Time to celebrate!! ????????????????#WRC @RallyRACC @TGR_WRC pic.twitter.com/tARZnP4ISS

— Sébastien Ogier (@SebOgier) October 23, 2022