Hunter Miller has been given a suspended disqualification, a €250 fine, and a two-hour penalty for Stage 8 following a chaotic moment in the refuel zone.

While waiting to add gas, Miller’s Can-Am Maverick R encountered mechanical issues that caused it to stall. His navigator Jeremy Gray used a satellite phone to call their team for help but neglected to inform race control in advance. Under FIA rules, all phones must be turned off in the Selective Section and can only be used when the car is stopped and to report a retirement, and race control must be told beforehand.

The phone alone is grounds for disqualification, but head steward Jan Seinen and his council decided to suspend it since they doubted Miller and Gray would do it again. Suspended DSQs mean the team won’t be disqualified from the race unless a repeat occurrence takes place.

Once their SSV was fired back up following “several attempts” to restart it, Miller and Gray got back inside. Not wanting to lose too much time, they drove directly to the end of the neutralization zone. However, Miller wasn’t wearing his gloves and his seatbelts weren’t properly fastened as he drove.

Seatbelt violations, where the navigator doesn’t have them on correctly while their car is moving, have been a headache for Seinen so far. Miller had already been penalized twice in Stages 2 (290 seconds) and 7 (40 seconds) for Gray not wearing them safely.

Gray also reached over from the passenger’s seat to steer the car during this stretch, which the FIA deemed an “unsafe action”.

“The stewards find that there is a serious breach of several articles in the regulations, and that the crew gained a time advantage through non-compliant behavior of the crew members,” reads Seinen’s report. “Having considered all the information, the Stewards find the above-mentioned time penalty to be appropriate. For not wearing the gloves, the Stewards impose the above-mentioned fine which is consistent with precedents in the past.”

Miller’s penalty is among a swath of those handed down by Seinen for neutralization zone violations on Wednesday. While his chances of a strong finish are gone, at least he will be able to continue the race unlike Óscar Ral, who received a full disqualification last Tuesday.

Featured image credit: Julien Delfosse / DPPI / ASO