Yahoo Autos The Best-Finishing Ford GTs Just Got Disqualified From Le Mans
The #68 Ford GT, which finished fourth in the GTE-Pro class at the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as the #85 Ford GT, the GTE-Am class winner, have disqualified by the FIA for a breach of fuel class regulations.
According to the FIA and ACO, the two sanctioning bodies for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the total fuel volume for the #68 car was "found to be in excess of the permitted limit." The maximum allowed volume for fuel tanks is 97 liters. Post-race scrutineering revealed the car to have had a maximum capacity of 97.83 liters.
From the WEC press release:
The competitor explained that the team checks the Maximum Onboard Fuel Volume at their facility in the US using the same measurement technique as the Scrutineers.
Since the car was shipped, the BoP [Balance of Performance] has changed, and the competitor made the changes to their tank, but given the resources on site, they were not able to do a calibrated check.
WEC officials have ordered the #68 team, which consisted of drivers Dirk Müller, Joey Hand, and Sébastien Bourdais, to forfeit any trophies or other prizes. The standings have been adjusted as necessary. The other three Ford GTs, which finished fifth, sixth, and seventh, will now move up to fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively. The team does have the option to appeal the decision. The 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans was the last for the factory Ford GT program.
The first privately run GT, the #85 car fielded by Keating Motorsports, finished first in the GTE-Am class, but was handed a 55.2-second time penalty, dropping it to second place. According to a report from Sportscar365, the car didn't meet the minimum refueling time of 45 seconds. The #56 Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR of Joerg Bergmeister, Patrick Lindsey and Egidio Perfetti inherent the win, as well as the WEC GTE-Am driver's title for the season. Shortly after, the team was disqualified from the results out-right thanks to a similar issue to the #68 car, with the fuel tank being 0.1 liters over maximum capacity, per Dailysportscar.com. Second place now goes to the #62 Ferrari 488 of Weathertech Racing.
via Motorsports.com
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