Fisi Might Be Awarded Third at LeMans

[cosworth151]

And you thought F1 scoring was messed up.....

A full week after the 24 Hours of LeMans, the scoring of the GT2 clas still hasn't been deemed official. The first place car, the Team Felbermayr Proton Porsche 997 GT3 RSR  and second place car, the Hankook Team Farnbacher Ferrari F430 are both having their engines examined. If they are excluded, the new winner will be the Scuderia Italia Porsche 997 GT3 RSR. Fisi's AF Corse Ferrari would be second and the IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 997 GT3 RSR will be third.

They hope to have it all sorted out by early next month! 

http://www.planetlemans.com/2010/06/18/gt2-classification-on-hold-%e2%80%93-top-2-under-investigation/

[lkjohnson1950]

Something must have made them suspicious, otherwise why waste everyone's time?
Is Max involved with the ACO?

Lonny

[Alianora La Canta]

It gets better/worse. The first two cars in GT2 are under investigation and Fisico finished 4th, so he could end up 2nd, 3rd or 4th depending on what happens here.

The suspicion is twofold. Firstly, Porsche were caught with a part for which it had forgotten to get a waiver in a race last year (not the Le Mans but one of the other long-distance events), which is a disqualifiable offence. The winning car in GT2 is a Porsche (the second, however, is a privateer Ferrari). Secondly, there had long been a suspicion that the GT2s were quicker than they should be (read: quicker than the GT1s). The first two GT2s beat the fastest GT1 (admittedly the fastest GT1 is a 10-year-old car but still...), so they're the ones being investigated.

Good thing the next sportscar race isn't for another fortnight!

[judy]

[quoteSecondly, there had long been a suspicion that the GT2s were quicker than they should be (read: quicker than the GT1s). The first two GT2s beat the fastest GT1 (admittedly the fastest GT1 is a 10-year-old car but still...), so they're the ones being investigated. quote]

I think it is more likely that the 2 cars were being investigated because they were faster than the fastest GT1. If there was a suspicion on some undeclared modification, they would have identified or at least made some investigation during the pre-race scrutineering (which itself was very detail). As for the 2 cars being faster than the fastest GT1. This should be normal as it occurred during the Le Mans series race in Spa last month.

[John S]

If they are going to find fault over a lower series car just for outperforming supposed higher league cars they better start pulling apart the GP2 cars that are putting in faster lap times than the F1 newbies at most tracks.  

[Alianora La Canta]

The #96 AF Corse lost its pole position in GT2 on account of a modification made between pre-scrutineering and qualifying in a way that took its gurney flap 2mm out of permitted tolerances. It's not beyond the realm of possibility (albeit rather unlikely) that the other GT2s could have been modified after the qualifying scrutineering check in a disqualifiable way.

As for beating the GT1s... ...you expected it, I expected it, one of the RLM commentators put money on it, but that's not the intention of the regulations. Otherwise the GT2s would be called the GT1s and vice versa Since this is sportscars' blue-riband event, it behoves the powers-that-be to take the fastest GT2s apart to prove that no foul play was at hand (or, indeed, otherwise). Oh well, we should know what's going on in a fortnight or so...

[lkjohnson1950]

Ferrari been bad? 

Lonny

[Alianora La Canta]

Well, one of them has. The other three behaved themselves, though the American side of the equation found itself with unreliable machinery. Fisi and his team-mates are in the last semi-official Ferrari standing.