Rally Driver Robert Kolcak Receives Disqualification After Sexually Inappropriate Conduct Towards Officials

Robert Kolcak has been disqualified from the Royal Rally of Scandinavia following a stewards’ hearing held on Saturday evening at the European Rally Championship event.
The 37-year-old Slovakian driver, competing under the Chooligan Racing team banner, was removed from the results after an incident involving a female scrutineer during a routine safety stop.
The incident occurred during a safety equipment inspection after the stop control of SS6, where Kolcak made sexually inappropriate comments directed at an official performing her duties.
According to the official stewards’ report, Kolcak asked the scrutineer whether she wanted to see his genitals and then proceeded to grab his genital area in front of the scrutineers present.
The stewards confirmed that Kolcak breached articles 12.2.1.f and 12.2.1.l of the FIA International Sporting Code, leading directly to his disqualification from the rally.
A hearing took place on 23rd May 2026 at 20:38, involving Team Manager Petr Linnart, Co-Driver Julius Lapdavsky, and Kolcak himself, giving all parties an opportunity to present their account.
During the hearing, Kolcak confirmed both the comments and the behaviour, attributing his actions to adrenaline following the stage and claiming he did not know the woman was an event official.
He also stated that his reaction was due to the way the scrutineer was trying to check his safety clothing, an explanation the stewards ultimately rejected as insufficient mitigation.
Both scrutineers present at the time gave evidence to the stewards and confirmed the accuracy of the report submitted by the Clerk of the Course regarding the incident.
The stewards noted that the comment was explicitly offensive in nature and directed towards an official while she was carrying out her duties on behalf of the event.
The stewards stated that the subsequent gesture further aggravated the seriousness of the incident, compounding the severity of the original verbal conduct directed at the official.
In their ruling, the stewards emphasised that all event officials are entitled to carry out their functions in an environment free from abuse, intimidation, harassment, or degrading behaviour.
The stewards concluded their decision by stating that any explanation such as the heat of the moment cannot be accepted as mitigating the behaviour observed during the incident.
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