Severyukhin’s Licence Withdrawn

The Sports Council of the Automobile Club of Italy has cancelled the race licence of Russian karter Artem Severyukhin.

The organisation’s wording in its press release was quite scathing of the Russian’s conduct, despite no investigation having yet been conducted.

It also mentioned that FIA regulations allowed it to issue an Italian licence to drivers from other nations, something that many Australian drivers have done in the past and continue to do to this day. Last year, ACI Sport issued 355 foreign drivers “of the most varied nationalities” an Italian sports license.

Artem Severyukhin winning Champions of the Future last month (pic – LRN Photo)

Statement from the Federation (translated by Google) is below.

The sports license of the Russian driver Artem Severyukhin has been withdrawn

So it was decided by the ACI Sports Council

While the extraordinary meeting of the Sports Council of the Automobile Club of Italy – called to take urgent measures following the unspeakable and unacceptable gesture of the Russian kart driver Artem Severyukhin, on the podium of the European junior karting race in Portimao (Portugal) – is still in progress, it is learned that the Executive itself has decided to immediately withdraw Severyukhin’s sports license and, at the same time, referred it to the Sports Justice so that it can evaluate the definition of further sanctions that fall within its sphere of competence.

Unavoidable measures, since, with his reckless gesture, Severyukhin has shown a lack of respect not only for the universal values that have always inspired every sport, but also for humanity, dignity and civil coexistence.

Severyukhin had obtained the Italian license, as required by the FIA regulations (the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile), which leave young drivers of all nationalities the widest freedom of movement among the international federations, to allow them to grow professionally in those Countries – such as Italy – which have a great tradition in terms of training in motorsport and training drivers for professionalism.

Our country, in particular, has always been the most important in the world as regards the practice of karting, as evidenced by the fact that in 2021 alone 355 foreign drivers, of the most varied nationalities, obtained the Italian sports license for this discipline.