OPTIMUM ASTON PENALTY APPEAL SUCCESSFUL FOR BRITISH GT RACE 1 AT SNETTERTON

The result of this season’s first British GT Championship race at Snetterton on May 27 has been officially confirmed following the conclusion of Optimum Motorsport’s appeal yesterday (September 4).

The team’s #75 Aston Martin, driven by Flick Haigh and Jonny Adam, originally finished fourth overall but dropped to ninth in the provisional classification after contact with Beechdean AMR’s Aston Martin resulted in a post-race drive through penalty, which was converted to a 30-second time penalty. This has now been overturned following Optimum’s successful appeal.

The additional 10 points earned for finishing fourth has seen Haigh and Adam’s championship lead increase to 27.5 points with one round remaining.

Following a previous decision by the MSA National Court and a subsequent MSA Investigatory Hearing on the interpretation of regulation C2.1.6, Optimum Motorsport were allowed to appeal the decision of the Clerk of the Course to impose a penalty. That appeal to a panel of stewards has been upheld with the decision that it was a racing incident and no penalty should be applied.

The MSA has subsequently amended the regulation to clarify that the decision to impose a stop/go or drive through penalty cannot be appealed. That decision was effective from July 2018 following the MSA National Council ruling in June 2018.