Fri Sep 20 12:17:11 UTC 2024: ## Ferrari Seeks Clarity on WEC Restart Rules After Appeal Failure
Ferrari is calling for a clarification of World Endurance Championship (WEC) regulations after their appeal against a protest regarding the restart of the Spa round in May was dismissed. The Italian manufacturer believes the regulations are ambiguous regarding race restarts beyond the scheduled finish time.
The FIA International Court of Appeal (ICA), in its ruling, stated that the “competent sporting authority” (the FIA) should address the “consequences of this ruling.” This, Ferrari argues, is a clear signal that the regulations need clarification.
Ferrari’s protest of the stewards’ decision to restart the race beyond the scheduled finish time was motivated, in part, by the desire for a definitive interpretation of the rules. The team maintains that the current regulations are unclear.
“What they are saying is that there is a grey area, that it is not clear,” said Batti Pregliasco, Ferrari AF Corse Hypercar team manager. “We need to clarify what we can call a bug in the regulations or some poor wording that caused the interpretation on our side, and not only on our side.”
BMW has also expressed support for a clarification of the regulations. BMW M Motorsport boss Andreas Roos stated, “If there is something that is not 100% clear, for sure we have to clarify it.”
The restart in Spa, which occurred after an extended delay for barrier repairs, was unprecedented in the history of the WEC. The stewards invoked a clause in the regulations that allowed them to modify the race time. However, Ferrari argued that this clause did not allow for a restart outside of the original timeframe.
The incident at Spa saw the two Ferrari 499P Hypercars, which had been running first and second, ultimately finish third and fourth after the two Porsche 963 LMDh cars, which had pitted before the red flag, moved ahead during the restart.
The FIA has been contacted for comment on this matter.
First Piper 