FIA responds to Makinen's "aggressive comments"
FIA rally director Yves Matton has defended the Rally Monte Carlo organisers' decision not to cancel Friday morning's loop of stages despite fierce criticism from Toyota team principal Tommi Makinen.

Makinen called for all three stages to be called off after it became clear Friday's opening one would be canned, stating it would be unfair to hand an advantage to a driver who had geared their tyre selection to the morning's second and third tests.
Matton pointed out that the decision to cancel stages lay with the Automobile Club de Monaco and specifically the clerk of the course.
The FIA's WRC safety delegate Michele Mouton feeds into that decision, but ultimately it comes from the event organiser.
Matton told Motorsport.com he was in agreement with the ACM's decisions through the morning.
He said: "I am quite surprised at so aggressive comments and [it's] not so professional to be so aggressive against the organisers and the FIA. He [Makinen] knows how difficult it is to manage spectators and how important safety is. Safety is the target number one for the future of rallying.
"We know the WRC is organised in a series of loops and you have to choose tyres for more than one stage. It's part of the game that sometimes you can win and sometimes you can lose, depending on your choice but also on what affects the event.
"I don't think it would be a good decision to cancel all three stages. Monte Carlo is quite an exceptional rally. And quite exceptional means quite exceptional things can happen. I don't think it's fair on the spectators and the fans to have to cancelled the stages [four and five].
"I can understand it's his job to do everything to let his drivers win a rally and a championship, it's his role. But he also needs a global view on the championship, [if we] cancel this morning, what do on the next event when we have a similar situation with some different choices?"
Matton added that missing the end of day Meet the Crews session would only serve to penalise the fans.
"It's quite a strange situation to say he will not let his drivers make some promotion," said Matton. "Promotion is in the interest of the manufacturer he is working for.
"Also it's a kind of respect to the fans who are here for the whole weekend and standing in the cold weather in the stages and in the cold weather tonight to meet them. And, on the other hand, Meet the Crews is mandatory. It's part of the mandatory promotion programme of the championship."

Previous article
Monte Carlo WRC: Neuville moves into the lead
Next article
Monte Carlo WRC: Ogier leads as Tanak hits trouble

About this article
Series | WRC |
Event | Rally Monte Carlo |
Author | David Evans |
FIA responds to Makinen's "aggressive comments"
Trending
Arctic Rally Finland: Highlights Stage 9
Arctic Rally Finland: Highlights Stages 6-8
Arctic Rally Finland: Highlights Stages 3-5
What to look out for in the 2021 WRC
As the 2021 World Rally Championship prepares to launch amid tight COVID-19 restrictions in Monte Carlo, here are the eight things unrelated to the pandemic that you should keep an eye on this year
Evans on the talking points of WRC 2021
He came close to the title last year, and now Toyota's Elfyn Evans gives his verdict on what to expect from 2021 as the World Rally Championship prepares to reconvene for the Monte Carlo season opener.
Why Britain's continued WRC absence is a wake-up call
With Rally GB dropping off the World Rally Championship calendar for the second year in a row, one of Britain's best-attended sporting events faces an uncertain future. It's an unfortunate situation that points to troubling times ahead
The Top 10 WRC drivers of 2020
A drastically-shortened 2020 season gave the World Rally Championship protagonists precious little stage mileage to strut their stuff, but as ever the cream rose to the top across the seven events. We rank the year's best performers
The twists and turns of a turbulent 2020 WRC season
The 2020 World Rally Championship bestrode all 12 months of the Gregorian calendar, and in terms of the competition it was a cracker. Moreover, it was an inspiration in dark days for the world and our industry.
The early setbacks that shaped the WRC's greatest driver Loeb
A series of close calls in his formative years threatened to leave rallying's top echelon tantalisingly out of reach for the man who would go on to claim nine WRC titles. In an exclusive interview, Sebastien Loeb recalls the key steps on his road to dominance.
Why the WRC's unorthodox Monza ending was a necessary one
The Monza Rally was an unusual way to end an unusual WRC season, and while far from ideal, without it the series could have faced serious ramifications. To persuade stakeholders to commit to an uncertain future, Monza was an important showcase…
How Monza's lottery winner matched a 27-year-old record
The 2020 World Rally Championship ended in heartbreak for Britain's Elfyn Evans as his 14-point advantage in the drivers' title race was whisked out from beneath him by a patch of Italian snow. Thus Sebastien Ogier claimed his seventh WRC title as Rally Monza joined the calendar for the first time.