MAY 3, 2006

Regis plays down accidents

Jacques Regis, the president of the French motor sport federation and an FIA Vice President has played down the impact of accidents which hit the sport over the weekend. There were three fatalities in France: two in a rally in the Lozere and the third at a hillclimb event in the Moselle. In addition there were deaths on rallies in Scotland and Germany and an incident when a car went into the crowd on the Targa Tasmania.

Regis has come out fighting, however, and told Le Monde newspaper that "It is not necessary to be dramatic. Rallying is a dangerous sport but we're not going to stop motorsport because of this. In the last 10 years you can count fatal accidents in races each year on the fingers of one hand. We organise 1100 competitions a year and the percentage of accidents is well below that recorded on the roads of France."

The FIA is working hard to improve rally safety but admits that motorsport is dangerous and that accidents will always happen. It's aim is to make sure that these accidents do not result in death and injury.