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Porsche Penske Motorsport To Protest Watkins Glen Penalty

Sunday (June 25) saw Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy appear to claim the overall victory in the Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen, their second victory of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. However, things changed once the team reached post-race technical inspection.

Under the IMSA Technical Inspection awning, IMSA officials found that the skid block on the No. 6 Porsche 963 was one millimeter too thin. As a result, the team was moved to the rear of the GTP class. BMW M Team RLL’s Connor de Phillippi and Nick Yelloly were awarded the victory.

See also
Connor de Phillippi, Nick Yelloly Awarded Watkins Glen Victory After Penalty

A number of things could be inferred by this. The easiest of the bunch would be that the team was running the car too low throughout the race and ground away too much of the skid block. Another is that the skid block itself was too thin to begin with.

While the former is possible, the car did not measure too low in post-race inspection. Had the car itself failed the height measurements, that penalty would have been noted.

Porsche released a statement Sunday night that clarified the penalty, while the same time, announcing their intention to appeal the ruling.

According to IMSA’s Sporting Regulations, Porsche Penske Motorsport has the ability to protest this ruling. They must protest in writing to Simon Hodgson, IMSA’s vice president of competition, within one business day of the penalty being received and enclose payment of $2,500. IMSA has discretion as to whether or not this fee would be returned in full or partially.

If IMSA decides that Porsche Penske Motorsport doesn’t have grounds to protest, then it’s over right there. If they do have grounds, all the data and materials will be analyzed. If the penalty is upheld, the team can appeal it.

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.