Regulatory climate chills considerably

16. June 2014Two rounds of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship are already behind us and there’ve been penalties and disqualifications such as we’ve never seen so many of so early in a season. The fact is, the regulatory atmosphere in the FIA ETRC is getting rawer this season. At the opening round the FIA’s new technical delegate Carlos Barros inspected – for the first time – every single race truck from underneath. A manufacturer of mobile truck lifts that was demonstrating its products at Misano made one of these available to the FIA; in any case Truck Sport Bernau would have brought one along. The underbody inspection did not have serious consequences for any of the teams; all punitive measures resulted only from activities on the track, or because one or other truck was found underweight after a race.
The penalty markers took centre stage. These orange cones or tubes, mostly to be found on the inside curves in corners, have long been an anchor of the ETRC regulations. Their purpose is to prevent trucks from simply cutting across. Don’t forget that the 5,5 tonne trucks can simply cruise over kerbs that would catch out most other racing vehicles, without losing a thousandth of a second.
Spectacular as the photographs and videos may look, the flying shards from trampled-over markers can also be extremely dangerous — in recent times they’ve shattered a few windscreens. Subsequently the FIA has placed new demands on the material and the race directors have decided to enforce the existing regulations more stringently, instructing the track marshals to observe diligently which trucks drive over or even touch the penalty markers.
This has fuelled a strenuous debate, because if a marker has been ripped off its base there’s often no way it can be replaced while the race continues — that would simply be suicidal for the marshals to attempt. But they still have to continue to monitor whether these spots are driven over. The fidelity of the marshals’ reports may vary, but the consequences for the drivers are usually extreme. A second infraction during a training session results in the driver’s times being struck out. In qualifying and in the SuperPole this could change the composition of the grid. In the race it could decide the outcome then and there, because any infraction after the second one is awarded a drive-through penalty or an addition of 30 seconds to elapsed time, or in extreme cases total disqualification.
There’s also justifiable apprehension that the parties responsible might simply get away with it, because in many instances it’s not easy to make out who the culprit is. But when you consider the many strange decisions in football’s ongoing World Cup by some of the best referees in the world (according to FIFA at any rate), the marshals of the FIA ETRC seem to be doing a rather good job. Besides, there’s no argument against the fact that the penalty markers must be monitored.
Other rules too are now being enforced more consistently. Under the regulations the technical delegate calls three trucks in after the end of every race to ensure that they still weigh 5,5 tonnes. Theoretically these could be any three of the trucks that started the race, but usually it’s only been the top three. In Navarra, however, Barros departed from the beaten path – unexpectedly, but wholly legitimately – and summoned trucks from the rear of the field, resulting in the odd disqualification or cancellation of points.
All in all, the protagonists in the FIA ETRC will have to reconcile to the fact that the regulations, both sporting and technical, are going to be interpreted more narrowly. But this is the way it should be.

Impressions: