World Rally Championship drivers have doubled-down on their stance regarding the FIA’s rules on drivers swearing by refusing to answer questions in interviews.
The World Rally Drivers’ Alliance [WoRDA] has issued a statement ahead of this weekend’s Safari Rally Kenya, which says drivers will choose to either remain silent in any obligatory media duties, or answer questions in their respective language, rather than English.
This comes after a similar statement, penned three weeks ago, rebuking a €10,000 fine handed to Hyundai driver Adrien Fourmaux – €20,000 suspended – for swearing in a television interview at January’s Rally Sweden.
The Frenchman’s fine was the catalyst for WoRDA being established, and is, in effect, the WRC’s equivalent of Formula 1’s Grand Prix Drivers’ Association [GPDA], which has also been at loggerheads with the FIA and its president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, regarding his directives which takes a similar no-tolerance approach to drivers’ language at race weekends.
It urged the sport’s governing body for a “mutually agreeable and urgent solution,” and with no apparent communication opened with WoRDA, the new WRC driver alliance has felt it necessary to promulgate a further explanation for its intended upcoming actions.
WoRDA statement in full
“We all agree to keep rudeness at the microphone to a minimum,” the statement read. “At the same time, it is necessary to maintain a certain freedom of expression and to keep emotions alive while drivers don’t need to be afraid of getting punished in any way.
“We have asked the president of the FIA for some positive changes in the rules to help us achieve this goal.
“For the reasons explained in our statement, it is impossible for us to guarantee that we (drivers and co-drivers) will be able to follow these rules perfectly and systematically.
“This is why we – WoRDA members – are now taking the responsible decision to remain silent at the end of the interviews or to answer in our mother tongue.In the own interest of our sport, such an action is unfortunately needed, and we apologize to all the rally fans, even though we know they support us in this.”
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