Mathieu Serradori has been disqualfied from the Rallye du Maroc after FIA stewards found two of the wheels on his Century CR7-T were underweight and had beadlocks installed.
At the end of Stage #1 on Monday, two of Serradori’s wheel rims were subjected to a random inspection. When measuring them, both were under the minimum weight of twelve kilograms with one weighing in at 11.006 kg and the other at 10.946 kg. Article 285-11.6 of the FIA’s International Sporting Code Appendix J stipulates that “only rims made from aluminum alloy and weighing more than 12 kg are authorised.”
An underweight wheel would usually just result in a fine, though the wheels were also found to have screws attached to keep the tyre’s beads secured to the wheel. Such a process is known as beadlock. ISC Appendix J’s Article 285-8 states the “use of any ‘Beadlock’ type device is forbidden” for four-wheel-drive cars like the Century.
Serradori’s team explained they had used beadlocks at the Baja Morocco, which took place a week before the Rallye du Maroc and is not under FIA sanction. According to the stewards’ report, they also admitted they were unaware of their ban from FIA events and that they “did not know anything about minimum weight limits. […] They have a person in the team responsible for tyres and rims, but this person also did not warn them about any weight limits.”
The misunderstanding can likely be attributed to the fact that Serradori previously drove the Century CR6, a two-wheel-drive machine where beadlocks are allowed and are not subject to weight requirements.
Of course, ‘I was unaware that was a rule’ is not going to fly in the stewards’ eyes. As such, the FIA ruled “only disqualification of the Competitor Car No 214 may be granted.”
Serradori had finished fifth in the Ultimate category in Monday’s leg and eighth among all cars. He briefly led Stage #2 prior to the 100-kilometre mark before settling for tenth, then returned to the bivouac to receive the ruling.
Despite the disqualification, Serradori is permitted to continue the race in the Open category.
“At the end of Stage #1, the FIA removed two rims from the car to weigh them and found them to be underweight,” begins an explanation from Century Racing on Wednesday. “It simply stems from the fact that the crew used CR6 type rims to mount the tyres with (near identical but lighter and with a screw type beadlock). It is a genuine mistake as the crew came straight from the Moroccan Baja where a CR6 participated in the event. We do acknowledge that we infringed the rules but we do not agree with the punishment: a monetary or time penalty would have been more appropriate. (For the records, the CR7 rims were weighed during Dakar 2024 and found to be legal)
“Mathieu and Loïc (Minaudier) will run in the Open category today, starting right from the back to carry on with the testing programme. We have made very good progress with the speed of the CR7 and are hoping to make some more steps today with new gearbox ratios and heavily revised suspension settings. We thank all our supporters for their encouragements and warm wishes, Dakar 2025 remains the sole focus right now.”
He is the fifth driver to be disqualified in the 2024 World Rally-Raid Championship and second from the premier Ultimate class. Challenger drivers Eryk and Michał Goczał were knocked out of the season-opening Dakar Rally for noncompliant clutches, while the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge saw SSV competitor João Ferreira and Ultimate racer Juan Cruz Yacopini be DQ’d for having crews approach their disabled vehicles while still in the Selective Section. The BP Ultimate Rally-Raid and Desafío Ruta 40 did not have any disqualifications.
UPDATE (9 October): Story has been updated to include a statement from Century.
