Virtual chicanes an alternative for WRC

The FIA has come under pressure to introduce virtual chicanes into the World Rally Championship in an effort to avoid situations like last week’s Rally Australia when a tractor was driven down a live stage.

The governing body is investigating the intrusion into the Sherwood test, when Andreas Mikkelsen was forced to overtake a tractor travelling down the stage. He crashed shortly afterwards.

MN sources explained the situation, saying: “[Jari-matti] Latvala hit the straw bale in the chicane and blocked the road. The marshals on the scene decided to take the tractor and move the bale out of the road and back into position. They thought they had three minutes to do the job. Andreas arrived while they were driving the tractor back.”

The technology exists to run a virtual chicane in the cars, with Hyundai team manager Alain Penasse keen to see it employed.

“It’s like a pitlane restrictor,” Penasse said. “We are told that, at a precise position, the car must not exceed, for example, 30mph. The car travels for a set distance at that speed and then speeds up again. For me, this is a much better idea.”

The drivers were angry at the tractor incident, with Esapekka Lappi saying: “There is no excuse for this. Somebody could have been killed.”

The FIA’S Yves Matton said: “The organiser conducted an investigation into the circumstances of this incident. It is important to understand why this happened as it did. We continue to study alternative speed reduction solutions, one of which is virtual chicanes.”