Police have closely monitored the driving behaviour and speeds of both rally fans and competitors in previous editions of Rally Estonia—and this year will be no exception.
On Thursday, the Clerk of the Course issued a reminder to all competitors regarding the matter. If a driver is caught speeding on a liaison section, the consequences could be severe—even from a sporting standpoint.
“All crews are strongly reminded to comply with all traffic rules and regulations, especially to respect the speed limits. The police will be monitoring driving behaviour and speeds throughout the rally,” the bulletin stated.
“The police may stop a car that is driven at excessive speed and hold the car for 45 minutes for the driver to ‘cool down,’” the announcement continued.
If a crew is forced to stop for as long as 45 minutes on a road section, it is highly likely they will arrive late at the next time control—resulting in a time penalty.
Even during reconnaissance, several drivers received fines for speeding. These penalties, however, were not issued by the police but by rally organisers, who receive data from GPS tracking devices installed in the cars.
Read more: WRC stars fined for speeding during Rally Estonia recce
Rally Estonia kicks off on Thursday evening with a short super special stage in Tartu.
