A vehicle drove through SS7 of the rally in the wrong direction - a serious safety breach
Photography by Hyundai
Words by Luke Barry
The Rally Chile organizer has been given a suspended €15,000 fine and reprimanded for a safety breach involving a vehicle driving through stage seven in the wrong direction.
On Saturday’s opening stage an “unauthorized car” entered SS7 via the flying finish, passing “through a police control and the stop control” per a Rally Chile stewards’ report.
The FIA medical delegate car met the unauthorized vehicle while passing through the stage approximately 40 minutes before the stage start, “almost causing a collision” in doing so. Special stage access closes 90 minutes prior to the first car’s start time.
Stewards flagged the lack of communication to Rally HQ that the car had entered the stage when not permitted to do so, with the first report of the unauthorized car coming from the FIA medical delegate’s car after its near miss.
“The clerk of the course admitted that there was a lack of communication and apologized for the incident that occurred,” stated the stewards’ report.
In addition to a suspended fine and reprimand, the rally stewards warned a repeat would lead to the rally being brought to a halt and not resumed.
The stewards’ report read: “The stewards, under the authority delegated to them through Article 11.9.3.r of the 2025 FIA International Sporting Code, will immediately and permanently stop the competition should another safety issue arise during the remainder of Rally Chile BioBio 2025.”
Four stages remain of Rally Chile 2025 with only Sunday’s leg to go.
Words:Alasdair Lindsay
Tags: Rally Chile, Rally Chile 2025, WRC, WRC 2025
Publish Date September 14, 2025 DirtFish
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