A couple of hours after the finish of the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January, IMSA announced that the engines from all five Lamborghini Huracan GT3’s in the field would be taken back for testing. The inspection came after the Huracans consistently posted faster lap times than any of the other GT3 cars in the GT-Daytona class. The garage was atwitter with somewhat frustrated team members despite the fact that Lamborghini did not win the class.
On Monday, IMSA announced that all five Lamborghini teams have been given a “Stop + 5 minute hold” penalty that has been added onto the final results, stating that the manufacturer violated Article 63, Attachment 2, Paragraph 2.9 of the 2016 IMSA Sporting Regulations. The paragraph states as follows:
Competitors and Manufacturers are expected to provide valid data upon request to assist IMSA in the
BoP process. Any Competitor or Manufacturer who deliberately gives false information, attempts to
influence the BoP process, or displays a level of performance beyond the expected result may be
issued a penalty prior to, during, or after a Race of a minimum Stop plus five (5) minutes. A penalty
assessed prior to or during the Race must be served within the final thirty (30) minutes of the Race,
regardless of the time when the infraction was discovered and/or the penalty communicated. Penalties
assessed after the Race are added to the Car’s finishing time for the Race and may include a lap
count penalty.
The cited rule, nicknamed the “Sandbagging Rule,” has been in effect since the beginning of the 2014 season, with Daytona as the centerpiece of the discussion. However, this is the first occasion in which IMSA has ever used it.
A Stop + 5 minute hold penalty at Daytona is roughly a three-lap penalty. The best of the Lamborghini teams was the No. 28 from Konrad Motorsport, which had the chance to win the class, but ran out of fuel in the closing minutes. They originally finished a lap down in fifth, but dropped to four laps down in tenth. O’Gara Motorsport‘s No. 11 dropped to 15th in class (32nd overall), while Paul Miller Racing‘s No. 48, Change Racing‘s No. 16 and Konrad Motorsport’s No. 21, which dropped out following a crash, did not lose any positions.
In addition to the penalties listed above, SportsCar365.com is reporting that Lamborghini has also been fined $25,000 and has been stripped of all manufacturer points from Daytona.
Also in the revised results, Turner Motorsport‘s No. 96 BMW M6 GT3 has been stripped of all points and dropped to the rear of the GT-Daytona class. Reasoning? One of the team’s four drivers exceeded the allowable drive time. IMSA has not stated which one of the four drivers broke the regulation.
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.