US racer banned for life in Oz
After doing burnouts in Darwin, Robby Gordon has been fined $4150 and banned from competingAustralian officials have banned US racer and Stadium Super Trucks series owner Robby Gordon from ever competing in this country again.
The reason? He performed burnouts in one of his competition trucks outside a Darwin nightspot on a public road after the Darwin round of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship (VASC).
The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport, or CAMS, has slapped an indefinite ban on Gordon – most famous for his IndyCar and NASCAR careers and a three-time Baja 1000 winner.
He will be denied a competition visa in future, all but ruling him out of competing in Australia.
Robby Gordon was also fined $4150 by the Darwin Local Court for various hoon and traffic offences. It's been reported that Gordon then publicly burned his fines.
The Gordon ban puts the highly-popular Stadium Super Trucks series in Australia into limbo, now that the series owner and racer won't be able to compete here.
But CAMS CEO, Eugene Arocca, said the hoon activity was inexcusable.
"…so-called 'hoon' behaviour on public roads is not reflective of our values, nor our member base, and will not be tolerated," said the Australian motorsport chief.
"We are disappointed that this incident is not demonstrative of the requisite level of professionalism demanded by modern motor sport.
"As a signatory of the global FIA Action for Road Safety campaign, we believe our CAMS licence holders, volunteers, circuits and car clubs – including our board and staff – uphold responsible conduct on our public roads."
It's not the first controversy over an international racer grappling with strict Australian hoon laws.
F1 ace Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes-AMG sports car was confiscated when he performed a burnout on a public road after qualifying fastest at the 2010 Melbourne F1 Grand Prix. Hamilton was fined $500.
Local F1 hero Mark Webber castigated Australia's harsh road rules at the time and said the country was a Nanny State. He argued that Aussies have to "…read an instruction book just to get out of bed..."
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