The 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours ended more than 30 hours ago, but the results have still not been confirmed.
The three Ferrari 499Ps were thoroughly inspected by the technical scrutineers, and one of them in particular caught their attention. It was the #50 car driven by Nicklas Nielsen, Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina. This car finished in fourth place.
At 8.11pm CET on Monday evening, summons #17 was officially drafted. It states: alleged breach of articles 2.4 and 3.8.7 of LMH technical regulations and 1.3.3 of 24 Hours of Le Mans supplementary regulations.
For clarification, here is Article 3.8.7 of the LMH technical regulations. The other two are not relevant in that they simply state that competitors must ensure that their cars satisfy the conditions of eligibility, compliance with the technical regulations, and safety throughout the competition. The presentation of a car for scrutineering will be deemed an implicit statement by the competitor of the conformity of the car.
Section 3.8.7 concerns the rear wing support. It stipulates that with the endplates and the rear flap connected (as in track condition), no point of the mainplane nor vertical support(s) may deflect no more than 15mm vertically when the following combined vertical loads are applied:
- A load of 2400N applied on the surface of the mainplane. The load will be applied in a downward direction uniformly and simultaneously at a point in x representing from 25% to 75% of the chord length of the main plane through six distinct similar pads of 200mm width, and extending from the leading edge of the wing to its trailing edge or the point of overlay of the flap if existing. Their uppermost surface will be horizontal before application of the 400N load and above the upper point of the flap.
- A load of 1000N pulling downwards on each endplate.
Since its debut in competition, the 499P has surprised everyone with its top speed. Some even suggest that the Evo Joker, which was added last year in Sao Paulo, was intended to eliminate this suspicious advantage. Whether true or not, article 3.8.7 was curiously added to the technical regulations only during the last off-season.
At 10.06pm on Monday, report #25 from the technical delegates informed us that "all cars were found in compliance with their respective regulations, subject to final checks of parts collected at the event from cars #6, #50, #51, #83, #21, #81, #92, and except car #50, which has been reported to the stewards for infringement".
In plain English, the technical delegates referred the infringement to the stewards. It is now up to them to decide whether there should be a penalty. Will it go as far as disqualification?
With the #50 finishing fourth, such a decision would move all the cars behind it up one place in the standings, including the #12 Cadillac V-Series.R inheriting that position.
from The Race https://ift.tt/dHn1g43
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