Dale disappointed as Stewards reject appeal
Justin Dale's appeal to the Stewards of the Formula Rally Championship was rejected earlier tonight. Justin, together with co-driver Andrew Bargery had appealed against the decision of the championship co-ordinator which saw them stripped of their 2001 Formula Rally title.
"It's obviously a big disappointment" commented Dale, "We were excluded on a technicality and we believe we had a strong technical argument against the decision". The row centres on the eligibility of the Peugeot 106 Super GTi, despite the car being homologated in the FIA "Super 1600" category during 2001.
After a lengthy deliberation, the Steward decided not to uphold the appeal and Justin remains excluded from the championship. They did however take the unusual step of returning the appeal fee to Dale, although they declined to comment further on their decision.
However, the matter is still not settled for certain. "We have formally appealed to the MSA for a final ruling on the matter" said Dale. "Clearly, we need to take into account the Stewards' verdict. But we do not believe there are valid grounds for our exclusion."
The Stewards' ruling only affects the final championship points. It does not alter the fact that Justin was the most successful driver in the 2001 championship - winning the Welsh, Scottish and Banbury rallies outright and setting more fastest stage times than any other competitor. It was this performance that saw Justin win the prestigious Autosport "National Rally Driver" award in December.
Appeals by Peugeot and Proton over their exclusion from the manufacturers' championship were also rejected by the Stewards.
19th February 2002
