A protest filed by Porsche over the handling of the championship-deciding incident in the finale of the Eight Hours of Bahrain has been rejected by the stewards.
The championship battle in GTE Pro was decided in a controversial manner on Saturday night when the #51 Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi tapped the leading #92 Porsche of Michael Christensen into a spin within the final fifteen minutes of the race.
Pier Guidi was ordered to give the position back to Christensen, but a planned pitstop for Christensen meant that the change of position between the two cars never occurred.
Porsche, in its protest, alleged that the collision between the two cars was not reported to the stewards but was instead solely handled by Race Director Eduardo Freitas, which Porsche say is in violation of the International Sporting Code.
However, the protest was rejected as the stewards noted in a bulletin that the decisions regarding the incident ‘were reported to the Stewards by the Race Director, investigated and taken by the Stewards in accordance with the Race Director.’
The protest has therefore been rejected, although Porsche is still allowed to appeal the decision.
Laudenbach: a ‘sad day’ for Porsche
Thomas Laudenbach, Porsche’s new Vice President of Motorsport, has also responded to the incident, calling it a ‘sad day’ for the German marque.
“It’s a sad day for Porsche Motorsport,” said Laudenbach. “Our rival nudged our leading car into a spin and drove on to victory. We can’t understand why the race director first issued a penalty and then withdrew it.”
“Our drivers and teams deserve the utmost respect. Everyone drove a fair and clean race for eight hours and gave spectators a great show. I’d like to thank them all for this. Right up until the end, the race was a really great promotion for motor racing.”
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