The Ferrari AF Corse crew submitted a protest towards the the stewards’ selections declaring that the race could be restarted after the unique time the occasion was scheduled to complete and the provisional outcomes of the race.
It was dominated inadmissible below the FIA’s worldwide sporting code as a result of “a stewards resolution can’t be the topic of a protest”, in keeping with the bulletin confirming its rejection.
The 2 Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercars had been operating 1-2 when the race was red-flagged after Earl Bamber’s Ganassi-run Cadillac V-Collection.R LMDh triggered a crash that despatched the #31 WRT BMW M4 GT3 pushed by Sean Gelael into the boundaries on the surface of the Kemmel Straight.
The accident occurred 4 hours and 13 minutes into the race however the repairs to the boundaries weren’t completed in time to permit a restart earlier than the scheduled 19:00 end.
A choice was taken by the stewards to renew the race at 19:10 for a interval of 1 hour and 44 minutes, the remaining time left on the clock minus the three minutes it took from the purple flag being proven till the vehicles shaped up on the grid in parc ferme situations.
Ferrari ended up ending third and fourth with its #50 and #51 manufacturing unit entries after the successful #12 Jota Porsche 963 LMDh and the second-placed #6 manufacturing unit Porsche Penske Motorsport gained time on account of the purple flag as a result of that they had pitted simply earlier than the stoppage.
Antonello Coletta, Ferrari’s sportscar racing boss, informed Motorsport.com after the race: “I don’t perceive what occurred – the clock was operating and the choice to restart after the tip of the six hours was very sudden for me.
“Frankly talking we had been in a situation to win the race and I’m not completely happy.
#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
Picture by: JEP / Motorsport Images
“My expectation was that we might possibly restart for some laps to complete the race, however to not restart fully for one hour and 44 minutes.”
The choice to renew the Spa 6 Hours was uncommon if not unprecedented within the historical past of the WEC since its rebirth in 2012, however was allowed below the sequence sporting laws.
They state: “If the circumstances so require the stewards might take the choice to cease and/or modify the race time set. This will not exceed the time of the competitors [meaning six hours].”
An explainer despatched out by the FIA within the wake of the race said that the choice to finish the total length of the Spa 6 Hours “ensured sporting equity for the rivals, who set their methods for a six-hour race”.
“Slicing the race session brief would imply that some rivals would acquire, and others would lose consequently.”
Bamber was penalised after the race for his half within the accident after tagging Gelael in addition to the again of the Proton Competition Porsche 963 with Neel Jani on the wheel.
The Cadillac must take a five-place grid penalty on the New Zealander’s subsequent look within the WEC, which implies the Le Mans 24 Hours double-points spherical on 15/16 June.