FIA questions Rally GB safety

Several British daily newspapers have carried sizeable stories this morning, outlining how a host of world rally stars received fines and even driving bans yesterday on the basis of offences committed during last year's running of the event.

But at last weekend's championship showdown, the South Wales police again used a number of mobile speed cameras to catch speeding fans and competitors. Despite the fact that the event is now backed by the Welsh Development Agency, the FIA has indicated that it intends to re-assess whether the region's roads have become too dangerous to host the large amount of traffic and rally machinery over three days.

An FIA spokesman said: "Road safety is a matter of the utmost importance to the FIA. The actions of the police and magistrates seem to indicate that this is an exceptionally dangerous location for a rally. The FIA has therefore asked its safety delegate for a report on the suitability of the local public roads for a World Championship event."

Many WRC insiders now believe that Rally GB is run under the harshest police regime in the entire series - beyond that of Australia, which has traditionally seen the most police activity.