Wales Rally GB : Armindo Araújo is the 2009 FIA Production Car World Rally Champion*

Armindo Araújo is the 2009 FIA Production Car World Rally Champion*

Rally of Great Britain

www.worldrallypics.com

13 October 2009, 7:35 pm

Nasser Al-Attiyah reinstated in Acropolis Rally after appeal, but penalty drops him out of the points.

Armindo Araújo (P, Mitsubishi) is the 2009 FIA Production Car World Rally Champion*, after the FIA International Court of Appeal reinstated Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT, Subaru) in the results of the Acropolis Rally of Greece (11-14 June 2009).

The ICA found a breach of rules had taken place, but converted the original penalty handed out by the Stewards to the Barwa Rally Team from an exclusion to a drop in the classification. It leaves Al-Attiyah in 13th (and last) place of the PWRC classification - a non-points scoring position.

This means that Araújo and co-driver Miguel Ramalho (P) have an unassailable 11 point lead entering the final round of the series, Rally GB (23-25 October 2009), while Al-Attiyah is in a four-way battle for the runner-up position.

The FIA International Court of Appeal met in Paris on Tuesday 6 October, to examine an appeal lodged by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) on behalf of its competitor Barwa Rally Team against a decision taken by the Stewards of the Meeting on 30 July 2009 on Round 6. Subsequent to the meeting of the FIA International Court of Appeal, the FIA published the following verdict:

'The Court, after having heard the parties and examined their submissions, declared the appeal admissible and decided to:

1. confirm the Contested Decision insofar as it finds that Article 254 of Appendix J to the International Sporting Code has been breached by the Appellant;
2. quash the Contested Decision insofar as it excludes the Appellant from the final classification of the Event;
3. impose upon the Appellant a drop to the last place of the classification of the Event.'

The full text of the International Court of Appeal's decision is available on the FIA website (www.fia.com).

Background: The final results of the Acropolis Rally of Greece were published subject to a complete check by the FIA's Technical Delegate of the engine of car N°50 (of the Barwa Rally Team). On the basis of the Technical Delegate's report dated 3 July 2009 the team was re-summoned on 30 July 2009 and the Stewards decided that a component of the entrant's car was not in conformity with Article 254 of Appendix J and therefore excluded car N°50 from the results of the Rally Acropolis of Greece 2009. The Barwa Rally Team appealed the decision of the Stewards.
* Subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA.

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As this year's Wales Rally GB - the final and deciding round of the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship - draws to a close, Business Minister, Edwina Hart has announced a funding package of £1.4 million for the 2012 event.

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