UPDATED: SBR appeal upheld - penalty reduced.
Marcos Ambrose has been reinstated as leader of the V8 Supercar Championship Series after an appeal by the Stone Brothers Racing team was upheld at a meeting of the championships Court of Appeal.
Although Ambrose was still credited with victory in last weekends Queensland 300, the reigning champion was docked of all his points [192] from the meeting and the team fined $10,000 after the ECU was deemed to be illegal.
Marcos Ambrose has been reinstated as leader of the V8 Supercar Championship Series after an appeal by the Stone Brothers Racing team was upheld at a meeting of the championships Court of Appeal.
Although Ambrose was still credited with victory in last weekends Queensland 300, the reigning champion was docked of all his points [192] from the meeting and the team fined $10,000 after the ECU was deemed to be illegal.
SBR launched an immediate appeal against the penalties handed down following the stewards' finding that the #1 car was in breach of technical rules C8.11.8 and C8.11.9 (AVESCO Operations Manual) in that the ECU wiring loom was found to include additional wires and a connector which were not permitted. Stewards admitted there was no performance gain from the wire.
Following the hearing, the Court of Appeal has now reinstated the points in full and reduced the fine to $5000. They also agreed to return the $10,000 appeal fee.
The Court said that the revised penalty was comparable with previous decisions relating to ECU loom irregularities but was more serious and reflected the ultimate responsibility of the team manager to ensure conformity with rules that were strict for good reason. The Court also took into account the previously unblemished record of the appellants.
The decision means Ambrose now retakes the lead of the series with 1064 points, 58 points ahead of Steven Richards.
