DARREN MCNAMARA vs RHYS MILLEN During Battle for 1st Place @ Formula Drift Las Vegas

[INFO]

DARREN MCNAMARA vs RHYS MILLEN during battle for 1st place @ Formula Drift Las Vegas 2011

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[ztkrevolution]

ok i know rhys is my boy but i dothink i should ask. some guy was yelling at jarod saying rhys should have been disqualified because he didnt have a light bar for braking. does anyone agree with this, i think thats a little much

[Bebop]

FD needs a structured consequences for technical violation.

I think a DQ is a bit of a reach though.

[my 1 88 u]

ok i know rhys is my boy but i dothink i should ask. some guy was yelling at jarod saying rhys should have been disqualified because he didnt have a light bar for braking. does anyone agree with this, i think thats a little much

I say disqualification.

[Slapshotnerd]

Remember, Rhys Millen has previously been fined for having non-functioning brake lights at Formula D Round 6 in New Jersey back in 2007.

http://www.driftlive.com/dl/2007/rhy...modifications/

http://www.formulad.com/standings/2007.php - Rhys should have earned 88 points for placing 2nd at event 6, but only earned 71 (which is a 17 point deduction).

Clearly his rear taillights are working as you can see him brake after the finish line, but the MANDATORY front brake light isn't working. The judges or any FD Staff could have easily asked a corner worker who was working the first corner if the taillights ever lit up during his entry. A simple "yes" from the corner worker would have verified that the front brake light wasn't working. This is probably the single most advantageous track to have a failed front brake light because the fastest part of the course is facing the judges, the entry is the most judged part of the course, and the part where the driver is most likely to left foot brake is during that initial initiation / sweeper.

The answer seems pretty clear. My question is whether FD will increase the penalty because this is the second time it has happened, and Rhys can't blame any car-to-car contact like he could in New Jersey.

[Slapshotnerd]

Wrecked has 1100 photos from top 32, including photos of nearly every driver in the top 16 minus Rhys with the 3rd brake light on:

Mordaunt:
http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/galle...l_IMG_4372.jpg

Tuerck + Forsberg
http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/galle...l_IMG_4264.jpg

Dmac + JR
http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/galle...l_IMG_4321.jpg

Aasbo + Powers
http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/galle...l_IMG_4183.jpg

Gushi
http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/galle...l_IMG_4220.jpg

Essa
http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/galle...l_IMG_4410.jpg

JTP
http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/galle...l_IMG_4449.jpg

Odi + Yoshioka
http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/galle...l_IMG_4759.jpg

I can't find "front brake light on" photos for Mohan (who admittedly had brake failure and crashed into the tires), Grunewald, and Yoshihara. All 3 of those drivers went out in top 16, which minimized the appearances they had in tandem under the lights. Millen drove in 4 battles under the lights (top 16 / top 8 / top 4 / finals), and he either never touched the brakes, or his front brake light wasn't working.

Can anyone find any photo from the entire weekend where Rhys Millen's front brake light is on? With 2 full days and no less than 8 runs under the lights, there has to be a photo SOMEWHERE if his front brake lights were in fact working...

[Formula D]

As some of you know and as I sure many of you do not know, we release infractions to the teams after each event. As of now this is not public, but Formula DRIFT is not against making it public. It is just for team release as of now.

Rhys' front brake light was NOT working if that is what was being asked. We saw it and made note of the infraction. The front brake light as you know is a visual aid for the judges to see when drivers are breaking. That is the primary function of that light. The important lights to be working are the rears. Fortunately, his rears were working and so he was not in violation of a bigger offense.

[Slapshotnerd]

Without getting into details of this infraction, what are the options for punishment on a front brake light infraction? My guess would be fine, championship points, qualifying points, or a combination of the 3? With a 'typical' infraction being just a small fine and/or qualifying points deduction ?

Does that sound about right?

[Formula D]

Being that it gave Rhys absolutely zero competitive advantage, this would be a fine

[INFO]

Rhys will be posting a direct response very soon